Tempest
by MugetsuPipefox
Summary: Sequel/continuation of The Solemnity of Merlin. Arthur's getting acquainted with modern society, but he's not the only one to return. Old enemies resurface with a plot for revenge and it will take Merlin, Arthur and lost friends to overcome this new threat to Albion.
1. Chapter 1

**It's been a while *sheepish grin*. Did you miss me?**

**Here is the long awaited sequel/continuation of The Solemnity of Merlin. I still haven't really figured out where I'm going with this, but I figured I'd kept you waiting long enough.**

I'm starting Uni this year, so I can't make any promises on updates, but I'll try my best. For those of you still awaiting the sequel to Revenge, I apologise and I'll get right on that as soon as I figure out what to do with it...

Disclaimer: I do not own Merlin or any of its characters. Nor do I own anything else copyrighted. So yeah...

* * *

Getting Arthur acquainted with the modern world was one of the hardest and most tiring things Merlin had ever had to do. And he had _a lot_ of things to compare it to. Merlin had been there each time a new discovery had been released to the public; he had been able to adapt to the changes over time, like the rest of the population. He found that he didn't really need to know how things worked, simply accepting that they did. And, he had to admit, some of these new inventions were incredibly convenient. Imagine how much simpler his Camelot life would have been if they'd had vacuum cleaners or cars. He'd have been able to get to all those places that had taken days of travel in a matter of hours.

Unfortunately, Arthur wasn't given this period of adaption. He didn't even get to have it explained to him over a number of years without anything to compare the changes to, like children did. No, he had it dumped on him all at once. To say he was confused was an understatement. With every piece of technology he was introduced to whose workings he couldn't explain he blamed on magic.

Merlin was getting frustrated.

For both Arthur's safety and Merlin's already deteriorated mental health, Arthur had been placed under house arrest until he no longer jumped when the light turned on when he opened the fridge, or when water came gushing out of the tap preheated.

Thankfully, Merlin didn't have much in the way of technology; he preferred to live in the comforts of centuries passed. His room was more like a study with a bed than a bedroom. He had shelves lined with books of varying ages, although the magic book Gaius had given him was still his favourite. As the years passed and the book began showing signs of wearing and damage, he had used magic to cast protective spells over it and to repair it. He cast the same charm over the other books when he had announced that Arthur would be using his room until he could organise another one. It was unlikely that Arthur would take interest in his collection, but he felt he should take the precaution anyway. Arthur wasn't exactly known for being gentle.

Aithusa seemed to be the only one that found the whole integration process remotely funny. She took great pleasure in seeing Arthur survive a dozen or so near-heart attacks each day. Although, Merlin though he caught a glimpse of Kilgharrah smiling in amusement on more than one occasion.

For Merlin it was frustrating. For Arthur it was a nightmare.

"_Mer_lin!"

Merlin sighed for the umpteenth time that morning and turned away from the book he had been reading. Arthur was watching him from his seat on the couch with an expression of utmost irritation.

"Yes, Arthur?" he asked, although he had a pretty good idea of what Arthur was going to say. After all, he'd been saying it at every chance he got over the last few days.

"Can't I go outside? You've locked me up in here for days!" Arthur grumbled.

"You sound like a five year old," Merlin returned his gaze to the book. "Have you gotten over your fear of the radio yet?"

"I'm not _scared_ of it, _Mer_lin… I just wasn't expecting it to start talking."

"Right," Merlin didn't believe it for a second. "Well, until you adjust to the meager technology here, I'm not letting you out. You'll end up getting yourself run over or arrested or something."

"Arrested? I'm the king!"

"Not anymore, you're not." That seemed to be the hardest thing for Arthur to come to terms with. He no longer had any authority. Whatsoever. Merlin was starting to feel more like a babysitter than a manservant. Which he probably was.

Arthur sighed and looked out the window behind him. He had tried to sneak out one time when Merlin had fallen asleep, only to find the door had been locked with magic. _Damn sorcerer_, he mentally cursed. Then Merlin had gone off and disappeared for hours, saying he was going to get 'necessities' for him. Arthur saw this as the perfect opportunity to get some fresh air… only to be stopped by two small dragons who had been 'left in charge'. It was insulting! He was the king, for God's sake! Dragons couldn't tell him what to do! Although, they were very persuasive, what with those sharp teeth and claws. He hadn't seen either of them breathe fire yet, but he wouldn't put it past them. Not to mention Merlin's seeming belief that he could order him around. Merlin was a _servant _(*cough*friend*cough*). And not a very good one, either. But he had magic, and now that Arthur knew about it, Merlin hadn't hesitated to use it around him. Another persuasive technique.

But the thought of sitting around doing nothing for one more day made him persevere. Couldn't Merlin see he was going crazy?

"What if we just go to the lake or something? We don't have to go anywhere populated. I just need to get out of this house for a while."

Merlin gave an expression of mock hurt. "What, you don't like my house?"

"No, actually. It's too small."

"You'd better get used to it, cause I have no intention of moving."

A scratching at the door caught both of their attentions.

"Meeeeerliiiiiin," a female voice called in a sing-song tone. "Let us iiiiiiiin!"

With barely a glance, the door swung open slightly and two small dragons wandered in. As soon as the two were inside, the door closed itself with a barely audible 'click'.

"How come they get to go outside but I'm stuck in here?" Arthur complained. "Surely two dragons would be more noticeable than me."

"Kilgharrah and Aithusa know not to go near other people and have enough sense not to get themselves lost or killed."

"Are you calling me stupid?"

"You said it, not me," Merlin grinned.

Arthur grabbed the nearest thing within his reach (which happened to be a pillow) and launched it at Merlin. Being more comfortable using magic around him now, Merlin was fully prepared to stop the 'weapon' in mid air and send it back to Arthur, but was beaten to the chase by Aithusa, who jumped up and grabbed the pillow in her jaws.

"Aithusa, you are not a dog," Kilgharrah sighed.

Aithusa appeared to think differently as she began munching away on the pillow.

"Aithusa, if you destroy that pillow, I'll stuff you as a replacement," Merlin said seriously.

Although Aithusa knew that he was unlikely to make good on that threat due to being one of the last of her kind, she wouldn't put it past him to magically transform her into a living pillow, at least for a little while, and promptly dropped the pillow with a sheepish smile.

Kilgharrah sighed again in exasperation. The things he had to put up with.

"Al_right_," Merlin announced after a few minutes of silence, in which Arthur continued to bore a hole into his skull with his gaze. "You win! I'll take you into town. But you have to promise to listen to everything I say. I don't want to have to use my magic to get you out of trouble."

"What's wrong with using magic in public? Surely by now the ban has been lifted?" Arthur asked, confusion overriding his sense of victory.

"It's not like it's illegal," Merlin said slowly, thinking of the best way to explain this. "More like it doesn't really exist; at least, people don't think it does. If I go around magically doing everything, people will get scared and there is no way I'm going to an insane asylum or being tested on."

That didn't really seem fair to Arthur, not that he'd ever admit he felt bad on Merlin's behalf. Why should Merlin have to continue to hide a part of himself after everything he's done, everything he's been through?

"Can I come?" Aithusa piped up.

"What was that you said about dragons having sense?" Arthur asked mockingly. If looks could kill, he would be dead three times over.

"If you like," Merlin replied to Aithusa. "Do you want to come, too, Kilgharrah?"

"As much as I hate that form, I fear that you'd cause too many problems without me," the golden dragon directed the last part to Arthur, who had sense enough not to reply.

Merlin smiled. "You have my permission to bite him if you feel it's necessary."

"Hey!"

"I am _not_ putting _any_ part of him in my mouth."

He wasn't sure why, but Arthur felt slightly insulted by that.

"Who wants to go first?" Merlin stood, closing his book.

"First?" Arthur frowned.

"Ooh! Me! Me!" Aithusa jumped up on her back legs a few times in excitement.

Kilgharrah shook his head. She was still young, but she had the mind of an ancient. Why couldn't she act like one?

Merlin found only amusement in her excitement and knelt down to her height. Aithusa grew still (a remarkable achievement) as Merlin placed a hand on her forehead and murmured a few words in the language of the Old Religion, eyes flashing gold briefly. Arthur watched in fascination as Aithusa's body began to morph and change until her form was unrecognizable. Standing before Merlin now, instead of a dragon, was a pure white dog. Aithusa's much shorter tail wagged happily as she admired her new form.

"Your turn, Kilgharrah," Merlin turned to the small Great Dragon who looked anything but pleased. Nevertheless, he came forward and allowed Merlin to repeat the process on him.

Arthur concluded that they looked much less menacing as dogs than as dragons.

Merlin got up and opened a drawer in a small table-cabinet near the door, pulling out two leads and collars. Both dragons (dogs?) visibly deflated at their appearance.

"As if this form wasn't embarrassing enough," Kilgharrah muttered.

"Do we _have_ to wear those?" Aithusa whined.

"Sorry, but you know what those people are like; they probably think you're going to run off and attack someone. It's for their sake, not yours."

"Fine." Aithusa allowed the collar to be placed around her neck but quickly jumped away when Merlin attempted to connect the lead.

"Aithusa," Merlin reprimanded.

"Oh, come on! I promise I won't walk off on my own! And I won't attack anybody! Even if they _do_ have roasted chickens."

Arthur got the distinct impression that there was a specific incident behind that last comment.

Merlin sighed and looked up at the ceiling. "Okay. Okay. But the second you misbehave, the leash goes on."

Aithusa grinned and happily trotted over to the door, waiting for them to go.

Kilgharrah grumbled as his own collar was put on, but like Aithusa, he went without the leash. He was more than sensible enough not to steal peoples' shopping or attack other dogs.

And, without further ado, the four of them headed out of the house, heading towards the town.

_I'm going soft_, Merlin thought as the door shut behind him.


	2. Chapter 2

**Hello again! **

**I was going to wait until Friday before uploading this chapter, so you won't suddenly have to wait long periods for updates when I reach the end of the prewritten chapters, but hey. I couldn't resist XD**

**Rakcrack15: Missed you too :3 Thanks for taking the time to review, especially since you're not overly familiar with the Merlin fandom. You truly are amazing. Therefore, this chapter is dedicated to you ;) Happy New Year**

**Disclaimer: Lol no, I do not own Merlin, I'm just borrowing the fandom for a little while**

* * *

Five minutes of walking through the town had Arthur wanting to turn around and go back to that house of boredom. At least Merlin's house had recognizable features. This was like no town Arthur had ever been to. The road appeared to be made out of some solid black substance that Merlin had called 'tar', and the only thing he could identify besides trees and buildings (and even they didn't look right) were the people – even if they were wearing rather strange clothes. Although, to be fair, so was he; Merlin had told him that chainmail and armour was not an acceptable attire. What was wrong with this new world?

Arthur had so many questions. What were those tall posts with strange bauble-like contraptions on the end? Or the other posts that were joined by thick black cables? Or–

His thoughts were abruptly cut short as a large, metal _thing_ sped past along the road. Arthur jumped, taking a large step in the opposite direction. Aithusa struggled to keep her mirth under control (it probably wouldn't go down well for a 'dog' to burst into a fit of laughter). Merlin stopped a few paces ahead with his head hung low.

"Relax," he turned and gave Arthur a reassuring smile. "It's just a car. It won't hurt you unless you walk out into the middle of the road."

"I'm not _scared_," Arthur said indignantly.

"If you say so," Merlin raised both eyebrows and continued on down the road, followed closely by Kilgharrah and a snickering Aithusa.

Arthur made a point of glaring at her as he moved into step behind them.

* * *

Gwendolyn smiled cheerfully as she brought a coffee to a woman seated at table 23. She only had to work for five more minutes before her break.

"_What are we doing here?_" a masculine voice caught her attention and she looked up to the entrance where two young men had just entered.

"_I want you to try something_," the dark haired man replied to his blonde companion.

"_Why does that not fill me with confidence?_"

The other man grinned but didn't comment as they walked up to the counter.

Gwen paused her clearing of a table as she watched the two place their orders, a strange feeling overcoming her. It was almost like she knew them from somewhere but couldn't remember exactly where. Stranger still, she was sure she hadn't seen either of them before in her life. She stood dumbfounded for the duration of their time in the café, only freed from her stupor when they left again, each holding a take-away cup. Even then she watched them through the window where they untied two dogs from a post and went on their way.

"Gwen? Are you alright?"

Gwen shot her head around to see one of her coworkers standing behind her with a concerned expression.

"Ah, yeah, fine," she shook her head a bit to clear it. "Just thought I saw someone I knew."

She hadn't even noticed that they weren't speaking English, or that she had somehow understood anyway.

* * *

Arthur looked down at the disposable cup warming his hand. Merlin had called it 'hot chocolate' – whatever chocolate was. Merlin noticed his apprehension and smiled.

"Go on," he encouraged. "Try it!" He took a sip of his own as if that would ease Arthur's suspicions.

The two dog-dragons were still grumbling about being tied up and left outside but Merlin and Arthur had opted to ignore them after the first few apologies that were dished out.

Arthur hesitantly raised the cup to his lips and took a small sip. Whatever he had been expecting it wasn't this. It was sweet, but not unpleasantly so. He couldn't say it was the best thing he'd ever drunk, but it was up there.

"So? What do you think?" Merlin grinned excitedly.

"It's alright," Arthur shrugged, taking another sip. He wouldn't let Merlin know what he really thought of it. He didn't need encouraging. But it seemed Merlin saw straight through that lie, as his grin only grew. If that was possible.

"How are you coping?"

The sudden seriousness of Merlin's tone caught Arthur off guard. He didn't need clarification to know what Merlin was talking about. He was never comfortable with talking about feelings and other girly things that Merlin appeared to have no troubles with; 1500 years hadn't changed that. He doubted time ever would.

"It's… different. It's like I've stepped into another world where nothing makes sense."

"In a way, you have." Merlin avoided his gaze. "It's not easy to get used to, but I'm sure you'll adjust given time."

Arthur nodded, but he didn't feel reassured. He was unsettled; everything he had ever known was gone. He was in a new world with new ideals and ways of doing things. Apart from Merlin (and maybe the dragons), there weren't even any people that he recognised or knew. There was almost nothing to give that sense of familiarity and comfort. Except of course for Merlin's house which, despite its size, was a blessing. Arthur was beginning to understand why Merlin had been putting off letting him go out.

"I don't like the idea of leaving you on your own," Merlin began in a lighter tone, "but I have to work tomorrow. Kilgharrah and Aithusa will take care of you, though, so I guess you won't _really_ be on your own."

_Wait. What?_ "Work?" Arthur asked stupidly.

Merlin rolled his eyes. "Yes, clotpole, work. As in, doing tasks in exchange for money."

"I know what working is, _Mer_lin," Arthur scowled.

"You didn't think I could get away with not working, did you? The world still revolves around money, you know."

"Yes, but you work for me."

"I highly doubt you have any money to pay me with, so I have to work. I can take a day off if you need me, though."

Had Merlin not said it in such a condescending tone, Arthur would have liked the idea of Merlin taking a day off, not that he'd ever tell him that.

"No, Merlin, I'm perfectly capable of taking care of myself."

Merlin looked doubtful. "Really? Because last I recall you needed help just getting dressed."

"Idiot."

"Dollophead."

"Clotpole."

"Prat."

The familiar banter eased some of Arthur's tension. It felt like it had been forever since he'd been able to just relax without the weight of the kingdom and the expectation of his peers hanging over his shoulders. Maybe, in this life, he would be able to be normal; without the pressures society put on him. But then there was that 'catastrophic event' that had caused his resurrection. He hadn't been entirely sure what Merlin had been talking about, but he assumed it was the reason he was here now. Maybe he wasn't as free as he thought he was.

Merlin was glad when they finally returned home. He had been nervous about taking Arthur out into the town. Not to mention the endless questions he was expecting to be asked. But Arthur had, surprisingly, taken it all rather well. He could tell by the expressions Arthur tried to hide that he was overwhelmed by it all, but to hear him admit it was a small relief, strange as that was. Maybe it was because taking things too well would be more concerning than freaking out. Either way, Merlin was comfortable with Arthur's progress. He just hoped that Arthur would be settled enough to face whatever had made Fate decide it was time for him to return. If he hadn't come back during the wars, what was Albion's time of greatest need? Could it really be worse than those wars? Merlin didn't really care to find out.

He was also feeling hesitant about going to work. He knew Kilgharrah and Aithusa would be able to watch over Arthur and make sure he didn't burn the house down or something like that, but it was so soon after his return. Being confused and alone wasn't really a good combination, and he knew Arthur wasn't entirely comfortable around the dragons, either.

But, for Arthur's sake, Merlin hid his trepidations and anxieties behind the mask he had long thought no longer needed. If he was outwardly unnerved, then Arthur would be ten times worse. Arthur didn't need that. Neither of them needed that.

Merlin squatted down and removed the collars from Kilgharrah and Aithusa, muttering the counter-spell to revert their forms. Both seemed much more comfortable in their own skin. The trip into town seemed to have tired them out (despite the ancientness of their minds, they were still only a few years old) and they moved to their favourite spots to curl up for a nap; Kilgharrah on the backrest of the couch and Aithusa sprawled across the rug. Merlin wondered how long it would be before the couch could no longer support Kilgharrah's weight. Maybe he'd have to put a strengthening spell on it…

"So, Merlin," Arthur pulled him out of his thoughts. "What sort of work do you do, exactly?"

* * *

"Miss Hobson, it's a pleasure to have you here," Peter Rane held out his hand in greeting.

"The pleasure's all mine," Morissa returned the gesture. "It's nice to be back home."

"Steven highly recommended you, and I think I speak for the entire English branch when I say we're lucky you decided to return."

Morissa thought back to her old boss in America, bringing a smile to her face. How would they manage without her? "I'm not sure I'll be able to live up to the exaggerations, but I'll do my best."

"That's all we ask of you. Care to take a tour?"

At her affirmative nod, Peter led her through the museum to each of the different departments, introducing her to her new colleagues. In America, she had been working specifically in the identification of religious artifacts from various ancient civilisations and, upon transferring back to England, had been offered a similar position in the sister Museum.

"And here is the main staff common room, where you're more than welcome to kick back and relax on your breaks," Peter opened a 'staff-only' door, revealing a small lounge-like setting with a kitchenette along the side wall. "Most of the staff come in here at one point or another, so it's a good place to visit if the people in your department start to bore you."

"Speak for yourself, Pete," a woman seated on the couch nursing a mug of coffee grinned. "Ain't nothing boring 'bout archaeology."

"Oh please," Peter laughed. "You lot are the worst of the bunch!" He composed himself and returned his attention to Morissa. "You don't start for another half hour if you wanted to get acquainted with this lot," he gestured to the small group.

"Sounds like fun," Morissa made herself comfortable on the couch beside the other woman.

"Well, if you need anything, don't hesitate to ask." And with that, Peter turned and disappeared out the door.

"The name's Christine, but everyone calls me Chris," the woman shook her hand. "I work in archaeology, but you prob'ly heard."

"Morissa," Morissa replied. "I just transferred from America, specialising in religious artifacts."

"'S a big area."

"It is, but I didn't want to limit myself to anything too specific. I need a bit of freedom in my work."

"Fair enough," an older man mixing his tea looked back over his shoulder. "I'm Matt from entomology."

"And I'm Renee, also from entomology," a red haired woman supplied from an armchair adjacent to the couch.

"It's nice to meet you all."

The door opened slightly and a dark haired man wearing a red neckerchief walked in. Without acknowledging anyone, he walked straight over to the kitchenette, poured boiling water into a mug, grabbed a tea bag and hurried back out the door.

"That's Melvin," Chris explained, noticing what had caught Morissa's attention. "Don't worry 'bout 'im too much, he's not much of a people person. Sticks to 'imself mostly."

"I wonder why," Morissa muttered to herself.

"Dunno," Renee shrugged. "Most he's ever said to me was 'good morning'."

"He works in archives and literature," Matt plonked himself down on the armrest of the armchair, forcing Renee to scoot over. "He's young, but incredibly good at what he does."

"Hmm." There was something about him. Something Morissa couldn't quite put her finger on. He seemed almost… familiar. But surely she'd never seen him before?

* * *

Arthur sighed as he continued pacing the length of the room. It had only been a few hours since Merlin had left but he was already bored. Without kingly duties to keep him occupied, there really weren't many options. He couldn't remember the last occasion he'd had so much free time. What did Merlin do all these years? He couldn't have worked all day everyday. Come to think of it, he'd disappeared for full days or longer more than once back in Camelot. What did he do then? Gaius had said he was at the tavern…

Arthur paused in his pacing. Merlin had magic. Had had magic his entire life. It was more than likely Merlin hadn't gone to the tavern at all. Now that he thought about it, Arthur realised that there were many blanks, questions, that he had simply ignored. Now he wanted the answers. _When Merlin gets back we're going to have a long talk_, Arthur decided.

But, until then, there was still the problem of boredom.

"There must be _something_ to do in this place," he groaned.

"You could always read a book," Kilgharrah shifted in his spot on the couch's backrest.

Arthur looked at him as though he'd sprouted a second head.

"It's not that bad," Aithusa rolled her eyes. "Merlin has lots of books. Maybe you'll find something that you're interested in."

Not being able to come up with anything better to do, Arthur conceded, heading into the bedroom where the bookshelves were.

Aithusa was right. Merlin did have a lot of books. Some of them appeared to be in languages Arthur had never even heard of. A particularly old looking book caught his eye. He reached up for it, but before his fingers could even get close to touching it, they struck a solid, invisible wall. He retracted his hand as though he'd been burned.

"You can't touch that one."

Arthur turned to see Aithusa watching him from the doorway. "Why not?"

"That's Merlin's magic book – the one Gaius gave him. It's got lots of enchantments on it so that he's the only one who can touch it."

"Oh." Arthur returned his gaze to the book. Now that he knew he couldn't touch it, he wanted to look at it all the more. It was probably the only momentum of Gaius Merlin had. Arthur had once thought that immortality would be useful, but after seeing Merlin, who had suffered through it, he could only associate it with a curse. What must it be like to be only able to stand by and watch while the world fell away around you? Knowing you had power but were still powerless to stop it?

A smaller, leather-bound book on a lower shelf stood out to him; he quickly identified it as being the one Merlin had been reading the previous day. When he tried to grab this one, he was pleased to find it didn't have the wards of the magic book.

"Umm," Aithusa's voice got his attention again.

"What?"

"I… I'm not sure you should read that one."

"Why?" Arthur looked down at the worn book in his hands. "What's wrong with it?"

"There's nothing wrong with it, as such," Aithusa shifted uncomfortably. "But I think it would be best to not look at it."

"You're the one who said I would find something interesting. Now that I have, you're saying I can't look at it?"

"Just… I just think it would be best for Merlin to tell you in person rather than have you find out through the pages of a book."

"Find out what?" _Are there _still _secrets between us?_

"About the past," it was Kilgharrah who spoke this time. Sometime during their conversation, he had moved to stand behind the slightly shorter Aithusa.

Now he _really_ wanted to read it. But, then, didn't he want to have Merlin personally answer his questions?

"That book is a journal," Kilgharrah explained. "Merlin wrote it a long, long time ago."

"I remember seeing him working on it in my previous life," Aithusa added, looking rather miserable. "He… he said it was so that he wouldn't forget. So that he would always be able to read it if he felt the need."

Something clenched in Arthur's chest. He had seen Merlin reading this exact book not twenty four hours ago. What did that mean? Did it mean he was forgetting? Had he forgotten Arthur? He wasn't sure he really wanted to know. Without a second's hesitation, Arthur slipped the journal back into it's place on the shelf. Merlin definitely had a lot of explaining to do when he got back.


	3. Chapter 3

**Greetings, my lovelies. **

**It's hot and I spent the day watching episodes of Merlin. On another note, I was in town the other day and we drove down Albion St, during which time I had a fan girl moment and my dad looked at me like I'd lost my mind.**

**Hope you enjoy the chapter!**

**Rger22: I'm so glad you're enjoying it! Hopefully you didn't feel the wait was too long. Thanks so much for reviewing. Made my day :3**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Merlin (or I would be making a 6th season in which Arthur returns so I don't have to angst and write future fics to get over the heartache from the last episode)**

* * *

Merlin paused in his translating of a Norse document and took a sip of his tea. Throughout the centuries he had visited several civilisations, learning their languages along the way. What better use for his personal experiences than in work directly relating to them? Not to mention a small handful of the documents he worked with made mention to magic and sometimes specific spells.

Peter had informed him that there was a new employee transferring from the American counterpart of the museum, but so far he hadn't been introduced. Come to think of it, there might have been one extra person in the lounge than there normally was. Not that he really wanted to make new acquaintances. The less people he got to know personally, the easier outliving them all became. It was also this mentality that had caused the hallucinations. But he would rather suffer through those than go through the grief and heartache that accompanied the death of a friend. At least the hallucinations allowed him to see his closest friends again – even if they _were_ only there to point out his failures.

Speaking of which, he was fairly sure there was one standing in the corner. Merlin sighed, making a point of not acknowledging the figure. He had hoped that the visions would leave him alone now that Arthur was back, but this was pretty clear proof that he'd been wrong in his assumptions. At least whoever it was this time had yet to say anything. Maybe if he pretended they weren't there they'd just go away. Unlikely, but possible.

Merlin allowed his mind to drift to Arthur. He briefly wondered how he was coping. Had he driven the dragons to insanity and gotten himself eaten? Kilgharrah had said he didn't want any part of Arthur in his mouth, but he was still a carnivorous reptile. It could still happen if he was provoked enough.

_Why didn't you save me?_

Merlin sat rigid, mug halfway to his mouth. He would recognise that voice anywhere. And it was the last voice he wanted to hear. At least he was completely alone in this department (there weren't really many people capable of translating from multiple languages who had been hired by the museum) if he suddenly had to bolt or started talking to himself.

_You said you would protect me but you let me die._

_Ignore it,_ Merlin repeated in his head like a mantra. _It's not real. Ignore it. It's not her._

_You could have stopped him. You could have saved me. So why didn't you?_

Merlin returned his attention to the document. He needed to keep his mind off the apparition. He needed to keep his mind off _her_.

_Why did you do nothing? I thought you loved me._

"I'm sorry," the words were a barely audible whisper. He continued to avoid looking in the far corner of the room.

_Are you? Someone who was sorry wouldn't have allowed it to happen. For someone who is supposed to be the most powerful warlock to ever live, you seem to be rather lacking in ability. You couldn't even heal a single wound._

"I'm sorry," he repeated, just as quietly. "I'm sorry I couldn't save you. I've never been good at healing spells."

_You're just making excuses!_ Her voice rose to a near shout. _If you really cared about me, you would have found a way to save me!_

Merlin felt the first tear fall down his cheek. She was right. He should have been able to save her. He should have found a way to heal her. She shouldn't have had to die. It was all his fault! And she wasn't the only one…

_Merlin._

As if on cue, a second, much deeper voice filled the room. Like the first, it was one he recognised. No amount of time could make him forget.

_I'm not the only one_, the first voice said in a much softer but no less angry tone. _Your inability has cost the lives of many._

I'm disappointed in you, the male voice chimed in. _I had expected that you would at least try to help me. But instead you just sat there, crying like I was already gone. I expected so much more._

Why wouldn't they just leave him alone? How many times did he have to apologise before they would be satisfied? Merlin took a shuddering breath and gripped the edge of his desk until his knuckles turned white.

"I'm sorry."

_Sorry doesn't bring us back,_ the female voice snarled. _Sorry doesn't fix your mistakes!_

"I know… I know."

"Melvin?"

_But Arthur came back, didn't he? He has an important role to play. But what about us? Who gets to decide that we aren't worthy of living again; that we're not needed?_

"Melvin?!"

_What are you going to do once destiny has been fulfilled? You are immortal. Arthur will live and die but your existence will continue on. I suppose it's a fitting punishment for all the wrongs you've committed._

"Melvin!"

A firm grip on his shoulders shocked Merlin into action. His head shot up to meet the concerned forest green eyes of a woman with long, dark hair. Morgana. _No. No. No. No. No._ He jumped back out of her reach, knocking over the chair in the process. Off balance, Merlin allowed himself to stumble back until he hit the far wall, where he slid to the ground and curled up into a tight ball, burying his head in his knees.

Morgana hadn't haunted him in a long time, but she was one of the worst. He had always blamed himself for the way she had turned out; for what she had become. So many 'what if's had gone through his mind. What if he'd told her about his magic? Would she have remained loyal? Or would she have only hastened to try and kill him once she had allied with Morgause?

This time she didn't seem to know what to say, continuing to gaze at him with an indecipherable expression. Was it fear? Did she fear him for what he had done to her? Because he was Emrys? Was she suddenly going to turn on him and attack? Scream and rage?

"I… I'm sorry," his voice wavered. "I'm sorry. I didn't want to… I thought I was doing what was right…what was the best thing… I know you're angry… I know! I'm sorry!"

* * *

Morissa wasn't sure what to do when she walked into the literature department to find Melvin staring unfocusedly at his work with his hands holding the edge of the desk in a death-grip. He looked so pale and she could have sworn he was hyperventilating. The whole image just seemed so… wrong.

"Melvin?" she called out, hoping that would be enough to distract him from whatever was affecting him. He didn't even acknowledge her presence.

"Melvin?!" she tried again with the same results. Thinking of nothing better to do, she hurried over and placed both hands on his shoulders, calling his name once more.

Then things seemed to happen too quickly for her to register. His head shot up, their eyes connecting. His face seemed to drain of any colour it had left as he became increasingly panicked, jumping back with such force that both he and the chair fell to the ground. Melvin drew into himself, his head tucked away so she could no longer see his face.

"I…I'm sorry," he spoke so quietly that she barely caught his words. "I'm sorry. I didn't want to… I thought I was doing what was right… what was the best thing… I know you're angry… I know! I'm sorry!" By the end his voice had risen to a near shout.

"Melvin," Morissa said calmly, kneeling in front of him. He still appeared unable to register her words, lost in whatever had scared him. She had never had to deal with someone who was panicking, but she knew that she had to get him to calm down. Only one thing came to mind. Morissa only hesitated for a moment before wrapping her arms around him and pulling him into a light embrace. "It's okay," she whispered soothingly. "It's alright, Melvin."

Melvin stiffened. Had she finally gotten through to him? Slowly, she pulled away, holding him at arm's length. Melvin lifted his head, his gaze finding hers. His breathing had evened out and some colour had returned to his face, but he seemed no less afraid.

"Are you alright?" she asked.

"You… you're…" he stammered.

"Oh," she quickly released him and stood, holding out a hand to help him up. "I'm Morissa. I just transferred in from America."

Melvin's eyes widened. For a moment she didn't think he was going to move, but then he hesitantly reached up and allowed her to pull him to his feet. "Uh…sorry… about that. I'm Melvin."

"Don't worry about it. Are you okay? I didn't mean to scare you."

"Fine… just…I'm okay." He avoided looking at her, distracting himself by picking up the fallen chair.

Morissa couldn't help but feel a bit sympathetic towards him. He seemed so awkward and scared. Maybe it wasn't that he wasn't a people person, but rather he was afraid. He certainly didn't seem comfortable in her presence. The comments of her new coworkers seemed so inaccurate.

"If you ever need to talk, I'm willing to listen." She wasn't sure what propelled her to say that but she found she didn't regret it. What if he didn't have anybody? She knew from experience that carrying burdens on your own wasn't healthy. If he needed help, she would be there.

"Thank you," still he refused to look at her. "But I'm alright."

"Well, if you're sure," Morissa turned to go.

"Was there a specific reason you came here?"

Morissa stopped and looked back at him. His sight was set firmly on the half-translated document on his desk but his body was angled in her direction.

"Oh, I saw you come into the lounge earlier and wanted to introduce myself."

He nodded, a troubled expression crossing his features. He didn't seem inclined to say anything more, so she smiled and returned the way she came, heading towards her own department.

* * *

Arthur wasn't sure what time it was when Merlin came through the door. The sky was too overcast to get a glimpse of the sun and he didn't know how to read the round thing on the wall Kilgharrah had called a 'clock'. Whatever time it was, it had to be early evening by now.

Arthur had been prepared to launch into a tirade of questions and force Merlin to tell him everything but stopped short when he caught sight of the suspicious looks on the two dragons' faces.

"I'm back," Merlin grinned, throwing his bag on the table. "Didn't miss me too much, did you?"

"Not at all," Arthur reassured him. "We've been having a lovely time, haven't we?" he looked back at the dragons who quickly hid their strange looks with smiles.

"Good. Because you'll be spending the day together again tomorrow."

"What?!"

"Arthur," Merlin spoke slowly, as if addressing a child. "I have to work more than one day a week."

A sudden, low growl from Kilgharrah and a flinch from Aithusa had him looking at the dragons once again. He wasn't sure he'd ever heard such a sinister sound come from the smaller version of the Great Dragon. And it was so unexpected. What did he have to be angry about?

Merlin glared at the dragons and they quickly went back to being calm and docile. _What was that about?_

"Well," Merlin turned and walked over to the kitchen. "I guess I should make dinner. You two can go out for a while if you like. I know you don't like being cooped up all day."

The dragons seemed hesitant to leave for a reason Arthur couldn't fathom. In the past few days he'd known them, they'd jumped at every chance of going outside. And they had seemed restless being confined to the house all day like he had. So why did they not want to go now? Then the first part of Merlin's comment hit him and he seized the chance to lighten the mood.

"Wait. _You're _cooking?"

"Unless you'd like to do it?"

"As long as it's not rat stew…"

"I'll have you know I've become a pretty good cook over the last… however many years."

That had Arthur biting his tongue. Merlin didn't seem overly affected about bringing up the many long years he'd endured, but it can't have been pleasant. Of course he would have had to learn to cook. How else would he survive on his own? Not that he hadn't been a good cook to begin with (another thing that would go unsaid).

Arthur caught sight of the long, meaningful looks Kilgharrah and Aithusa gave Merlin as they walked out the front door. He suddenly felt very out of the loop.

"So what did you get up to?" Merlin asked, pulling a rather large knife out of a drawer.

"Not much. There really isn't a lot to do here, you know. No wonder you went and got yourself a job."

"If it were possible, I'd much rather just stay here." A strange stiffness seemed to attack Merlin's posture.

"I'm sure even you would get bored after a while," Arthur tried to keep the conversation going.

"Not really. I could always read, or practice my magic, or talk with Kilgharrah and Aithusa, or go for a walk around the lake…" his voice trailed off at this point.

Now Arthur was certain there was something wrong. "Merlin," he waited until Merlin glanced over his shoulder to show he was listening before continuing. "Is everything alright?"

Merlin stopped mid-chop and heaved a heavy sigh. "Why wouldn't I be?"

"I don't know… you just seem a bit tense, is all."

"I'm fine," he continued cutting up the carrot he'd been working on.

"I'm not very good at this sort of thing, but if you want to talk–" Arthur was cut off as a glass on the table shattered of its own accord. He could almost see Merlin's eyes fading from that bright gold back to their normal crystal blue.

Merlin froze in place, as if he'd only just realised what had happened. He quickly put the knife down and moved across the room, barely throwing a glance in Arthur's direction. He paused in the doorway, hand on the knob.

"I…ah…sorry," he tried to find the words. "I'm just gonna go for a walk." He slipped out the doorway.

Arthur remained in his seat, rooted by shock. What had just happened? Did he make Merlin angry? There was definitely something going on that he wasn't aware of. And he was going to find out exactly what it was if it was the last thing he ever did.


	4. Chapter 4

**Alrighty. It's been a week so here's the next chapter!**

**Disclaimer: IDOM**

* * *

Merlin growled in frustration at himself as he stalked through the forest of trees surrounding his house, not paying attention to where he was going. He had let his trepidations and anxieties get the better of him and his magic had responded. That one line… the one time Arthur had tried to be comforting and Merlin had blown it up in his face. Quite literally. He hadn't meant to have such a reaction, but Arthur's offer to listen was so similar to Morg– Morissa's earlier that it had managed to resurface all the fear, pain and embarrassment he had suffered through earlier that afternoon.

Oh, God. Arthur.

Merlin stopped dead in his tracks. He had left Arthur alone. Probably confused and hurt at Merlin's actions. What would he say to him when he got back? How would Arthur react? Would he just pretend it never happened? No, he had a right to know; it concerned his near future, after all. But he had a more immediate problem to deal with. Searching with his mind, Merlin located the two dragons, who were hunting not far away.

_Kilgharrah, Aithusa,_ he called out to them.

_What is it, Merlin?_ Kilgharrah responded, some of his anger from earlier still evident. Although it wasn't directed at him, the harshness of his tone made Merlin uncomfortable.

_Are you okay?_ Aithusa asked. _You feel shaken. More so than earlier._

_I'm as well as can be expected. I kind of lost control of my magic in front of Arthur and walked off… he's alone back at the house but I'm not ready to return yet._

What happened? Kilgharrah spoke more calmly this time.

_He said something that reminded me of what happened at work… I panicked and my magic reacted to it._

I understand, Aithusa said soothingly. _I'll head back and keep an eye on Arthur._

Thank you, Merlin broke the connection and continued on at a much slower pace.

What did this apparent reincarnation of Morgana mean? It seemed pretty clear that she didn't recognise him… maybe she wouldn't be an enemy this time? He certainly hoped that was the case. But if Morgana was back, what did that mean for the others? Would he get to see them again? And what about his other enemies? Like Morgause and Cenred. Or Uther? Merlin didn't know, but one thing he did know was that things were going to escalate from then on. The time of Albion's greatest need was most definitely upon them.

* * *

Arthur was still sitting gaping in shock when the door was pushed open. He instantly clamped shut his loose jaw and tried to look relaxed. He hated himself for slumping in relief when Aithusa walked through the threshold instead of Merlin.

"Are you okay?" the white dragon asked, using her tail to shut the door behind her.

"Fine," Arthur replied instantaneously. "Just wasn't expecting it."

Aithusa looked at the shards of glass littering the table and the floor. "He didn't mean it."

"I know." Of course he knew. Merlin would never deliberately attack him… would he? "What I don't know is why it happened. He's seemed rather… off since he got back."

"There was… an incident at his work today and it's made him uneasy. You said something that brought it back to the forefront of his mind and his magic responded to his emotions."

"Something happened at work?" Arthur gathered the strength to get up and looked around for a broom to sweep up the mess.

"It's not my place to tell you."

"Is that why you and Kilgharrah were acting weird?"

Aithusa absently began pushing the shards into a pile with her tail. "Yes. He told us what happened telepathically." Upon seeing the half confused and half horrified expression on Arthur's face, she elaborated. "It's a Dragonlord ability. Don't worry, he can't read your mind."

"Wait. Merlin's a Dragonlord?" _Another thing he neglected to tell me._

Aithusa looked at him incredulously. "Surely Kilgharrah and me being here and Kilgharrah's presence at your death would be more than enough evidence to suggest this?"

Arthur felt kind of stupid for not picking up on that. But, to be fair, he had been dying at the time. "Speaking of Merlin, he took off rather suddenly. Is he alright?"

"He'll be fine. Just give him some time."

* * *

"Merlin."

Merlin looked up to see Kilgharrah landing elegantly in front of him.

"Are you feeling better?"

"Better than I was," Merlin shrugged. "It's just that… Morgana! She was right there! I thought she was a hallucination at first, but no… she was real…" He stopped in his rambling and sat down heavily on the grass beside the small golden dragon. "Kilgharrah… what do I do?"

"I doubt I could tell you anything more than what you already know," Kilgharrah said sympathetically. "If Morgana is back, then it is probable that she is not the only one."

"What if she turns on us again? I'm not sure if I could bring myself to kill her again… I don't want to fight her. She was good once."

"And maybe she can be, again. But Merlin, you must be careful. If she does turn out to be an enemy, you must watch your back. I don't want to have to come to your rescue because you put too much trust in her."

"I know," Merlin sighed. "I know."

When Merlin and Kilgharrah returned to the house, both were feeling significantly calmer than they had an hour or so before. But Merlin found a knot of dread hanging deep in the pit of his stomach as he opened the door (by hand) and walked in. The sight that greeted him was not one he would have come to expect.

Arthur and Aithusa were seated at the table, which had been set for two. A bowl of rather suspicious looking stew sat before each chair and the remains of the shattered glass were nowhere in sight.

"It's about time you got back," Arthur frowned at him but there was a hint of a smile on his face. "I went to all the trouble to make dinner and you're not even around to appreciate it."

Merlin stood looking dumbfounded. "You. _You_ made dinner? For that matter, _you cleaned up?_"

"Why do you sound so surprised?" Arthur scoffed. "Now sit down and eat."

"I'm not sure I want to," Merlin's face split into a large grin. "It'll probably kill me."

"_Mer_lin, you've lived through 1500 years; I doubt my cooking is going to be what kills you."

A pang of loneliness struck Merlin with those words but he made an effort not to let it show on in his expression. "I'm not sure I'd like to risk that."

"Merlin."

"Shut up?"

"Good, you haven't forgotten. Now get over here, sit down, and eat your dinner. It's highly unlikely that you'll ever get to taste my wonderful cooking skills again in the near future. You should feel privileged; not everyone gets to have the King of Camelot cook for them."

"That's probably for the best," Merlin muttered under his breath but stepped forward all the same.

"I heard that."

"Prat."

Aithusa happily surrendered her seat to Merlin and laid down by his feet. Hesitantly, Merlin lifted a spoonful of the stew and took a bite. It wasn't as bad as he'd been expecting, mildly tolerable, in fact, but he wasn't about to tell Arthur that.

* * *

Morissa tossed and turned in her sleep. Like a few other rare occasions in the past, she was dreaming of an era long since passed. As always in these dreams, she was a Lady, ward to the King. She dreamt of her maidservant and best friend, Guinevere, the old physician, Gaius, who would give her tonics to help her sleep, the prince, Arthur, and his arrogance. She knew there were others; people she vaguely remembered from the dreams of her childhood. But now they seemed to escape her.

This dream seemed to be early in the timeline she'd experienced; she was still loved and respected by the people, rather than the bitter, hate-filled role she had played in earlier dreams. In those dreams she had sought to claim the kingdom as her own. Why? She had yet to see what had caused her to turn against what had once been her 'home'.

Was it just a coincidence that the prince was named Arthur? That her maid was Guinevere? That she, herself, played the role of Morgana? If she remembered correctly, they were all characters from the Arthurian legends, but these people seemed to live lives so different from what the legends portrayed. Surely, then, it was just some conjure of her tired mind after spending a long day surrounded by history? But, then, why were the dreams recurring? It had been many years since the last one, but she knew they were the same people, the same setting – just a different event unfolding before her eyes with each experience.

She would have to look into it further. It was too suspicious to be a coincidence.

That was why, the next morning when she arrived at work, she made a point of setting aside some time to head down to the literature department and see if they had any documents on the Arthurian legends. It would also give her an excuse to see Melvin and check on how he was doing. Hopefully she wouldn't walk in on another panic-attack. The poor thing.

Morissa knocked lightly on the door to Melvin's office, waiting patiently for the small call of 'enter' before opening the door and stepping inside.

Much like the last time she saw him, Melvin was seated at his desk. But this time, he looked calm and focused on his work. He didn't acknowledge her for a moment, presumably finishing off what he was doing so as not to lose track. In less than a minute, he put down his pen and looked up. Their eyes locked and all sense of ease on his part dissipated as his body tensed.

"Can I help you?" His words were forced and there was no hint of welcoming on his features.

_Maybe he's embarrassed about what happened yesterday…_ "I was wondering if the museum had any documents on the Arthurian legends?"

If it was possible, he tensed further. "…Ah… were you after anything specific?"

"Not really," Morissa shrugged one shoulder. "Anything's fine."

"May I ask why the sudden interest?" Melvin looked at her calculatingly, as if she was a puzzle he was trying to figure out.

"I guess I'm just interested," Morissa said honestly.

Melvin was silent for a moment before rising to his feet. "There are a few; I'll go get them for you."

Morissa remained where she was, watching as he retreated into another room. He took much less time than anticipated, as if he knew exactly where to find them. Perhaps he did. She had been told he was remarkably good at his job.

"I can't allow you to take them out of the department without written consent from the higher ups," he said as he gently handed her a small stack of bound pieces of parchment and a dusty book with a worn cover. "But you can look at them here."

"Thank you," she smiled, glancing down at the top sheet. It appeared to be written in Old English and, to her shock, she found she had no difficulty reading it. Glancing around the room, she noticed a small armchair in the corner and took a seat. She could practically feel Melvin's gaze boring into her but she made a point of not meeting his eyes. He still seemed uncomfortable around her and she didn't want to provoke matters.

And so she spent the majority of her break sitting in Melvin's office, reading the Arthurian documents. As she had expected, they were just retellings from various historical figures and none of the accounts seemed to match up with what she had witnessed in her dreams. She wasn't sure if she felt disappointed or not, but she found she still had more questions than she did answers.

When the end of her break drew near, Morissa rose from her spot and returned the documents to Melvin, with another thank you and a smile he didn't return.

"Did you find what you were looking for?" He surprised her with his question.

"I'm not really sure what I was looking for, to tell the truth. Do you know much about the legends?" she replied.

"...A bit."

"Tell me, Melvin, why do you think Morgana turned against them?" She had spoken aloud before she even realised what she was asking. Melvin would have no idea what she was talking about, presumably thinking about the recorded incident when Morgan Le Fay had tried to kill Arthur.

Melvin sat rigid, eyes wide as he stared at her. For a moment she wondered if he was ever going to answer. But when he spoke, his voice was low and subdued.

"I… I think she allowed her anger and fear take over… she didn't have the support she needed to reassure her that she was alright, that there was nothing wrong with her. So, she took help where she could get it… it just happened to be from a person who was against Uther and Arthur… and Camelot… Maybe if things had've been different, if she'd received that support she so desperately needed, she wouldn't have drowned in her own anger and hatred. She could have been a great force for good."

She was rendered speechless by his reply. She knew he wouldn't realise it, but it seemed to fit perfectly with her dreams and not so well with the actual legends. Morgan Le Fay hadn't tried to kill Arthur until after Uther's death. Morissa noted the slight gleam of Melvin's eyes. It was clear this was something he felt strongly about, but from his expression she knew there must be more to it she wasn't seeing.

Morissa looked down at her watch. "I… I have to go," she announced. "Thank you for your help."

Melvin didn't look up from his work as she left.


	5. Chapter 5

**Okay, this is a day early, but I'm dying to share something with you all.**

**So today I received some of my new Uni textbooks in the mail, and I opened one of them (called 'The Twelve Caesars' Suetonius) to a random page and at the top of the page was written the following:**

**'Gaius paid no attention to traditional or current fashions in his dress, but ignored masculine and even human conventions. Often he made public appearances in a cloak covered with embroidery and encrusted with precious stones, a long-sleeved tunic, and bracelets, and at other times in silk or even a woman's gown; and he came shod sometimes with slippers, sometimes with buskins, sometimes with military boots, sometimes with women's shoes.'**

**Made my day.**

**GoldenFireFish: Thank you so much for your kind words and for taking the time to leave a review :3**

Yaeliz: There are quite a lot of post series 5 fics out there. I have a few favourites. If you're interested, I would recommend 'The Forgetful Reincarnation' by ErinNovelist or 'Finding Merlin' by Stealth Dragon. I'm so glad you like this, though ^w^ 

**Disclaimer: IDOM**

* * *

Having been neglected for the past few days, Arthur made Merlin promise to let him go out somewhere once Merlin returned from work. Of course, Merlin had complained about being tired and 'couldn't he wait until the weekend?' and other excuses, but Arthur would not relent. There was only so long you could stay inside with only two talking dragons for company until you lost your mind. He was beginning to see why Merlin had reacted the way he did to Arthur's sudden appearance in his house.

So there they were, walking into town with the two dragons disguised as dogs (they refused to be left behind). Seeing as most places closed after 5pm, Merlin had opted to going out to eat; that way they could sit outside with Kilgharrah and Aithusa.

Choosing a nice looking place, they took the table furthest away from the others (incase one of the dog-dragons decided to talk) and looked over the menu placed on the table.

"What do you do you want?" Merlin asked as he scanned over the menu.

Arthur frowned, squinting his eyes slightly as if it would help him to understand the foreign language printed on the page. With a huff, he placed the menu down on the table top. "I can't read it."

"Hmm?" Merlin looked up from his own menu and stared at him.

"The menu. I can't read it," Arthur repeated.

Merlin frowned in confusion for a moment before his eyes widened in understanding. "That's not surprising. I'll have to teach you new English… that might take a while… maybe I can find a spell."

Arthur wasn't sure if he liked the idea of having a spell cast on him. He had become much more comfortable around magic thanks to Merlin, but being enchanted was a whole other story.

"I didn't even realise I was speaking in Old English with you," Merlin continued, almost as if he was talking to himself.

"_Can I take your order?_" a young waiter stood before them with a small notebook and a pen in hand, looking at them expectantly.

"_I'll have the carbonara_," Merlin smiled then turned back to Arthur. "Do you know what you want or should I choose for you?"

"Ah… you choose," Arthur replied uncertainly.

Merlin turned back to the waiter. "_He'll have the steak. Are you willing to do a simple meat dish for these two?"_ He gestured to Kilgharrah and Aithusa. "_Even if you just put a couple of steaks on another plate and I'll hand-feed them if necessary."_

"I'll see what I can do," the waiter replied. "_Anything for drinks?"_

"Two cokes, please." Merlin glanced sidelong at Arthur. "…_better make one of them diet."_

For some reason, Arthur felt as though he'd just been insulted. He definitely needed to learn this new language if people were insulting him without him knowing. Especially if it was Merlin.

The waiter nodded, jotted a few things down and walked back into the main section of the restaurant.

* * *

Gwen was walking home from her job at the café when she saw them. It was the same two men and the dogs from the café a few days ago, seated at a table outside a casual restaurant across the street. What was it about them that made her feel nostalgic? Why did she have the urge to go up to them and talk to them? Granted, they were good looking, especially the blonde, but she'd never felt bold like that before.

Even if she did go over, what would she say? 'Hi, I saw you at a café the other day and I think you look really familiar'. No. Absolutely not. They'd think she was mental. It certainly didn't help that she'd been having dreams about them. Even she was starting to think she was mental. Seriously, she saw them _one time_ and she was having dreams about them! The dark haired one – Merlin, she'd called him – was her best friend and the blonde (Arthur, apparently) had shifting roles. In the beginning she hadn't thought much of him but then, somehow, she ended up being married to him. Yep. She was definitely going insane.

As she was staring, her eyes locked with the blue eyes of the white dog. They stared at each other for a moment before the dog suddenly started barking. Gwen flinched at the sudden vocal acknowledgement. Was it because she was staring? She had heard somewhere that looking into a dog's eyes was like challenging it.

When the two men turned to look at the dog, Gwen quickly ducked her head and hurried down the road, the dog continuing to bark at her. It was a good thing dogs couldn't talk, or she'd be so embarrassed she'd want to curl up and die.

* * *

Aithusa's sudden outburst had both Merlin, Arthur, Kilgharrah and some other restaurant patrons turning to look at her.

"Aithusa," Merlin reprimanded but it did nothing to calm her. "What's wrong? What is it?"

_Gwen_, Aithusa replied.

"What?!" Merlin realised he was drawing attention to himself and switched to telepathy. _What? Did you see Gwen? And stop barking!_

Aithusa begrudgingly conceded. Merlin was beginning to wonder if she did it for the pure fun of it. _Yes. She was watching us from across the street._

Merlin looked up, following Aithusa's line of sight. There was no sign of the beautiful queen, however. He briefly wondered if he would recognise her even if he did see her. It had been so long since he'd seen her face that he could no longer gain a clear picture of her in his mind. Gwen was one of the few friends that had rarely haunted him; there wasn't really a reason for her to. Occasionally she would rant about letting her husband die, but Merlin got enough about that from everyone else (especially Arthur) to cover her part.

_Are you sure? You didn't just see someone similar?_

Merlin, a dragon's memory is much greater than a human's. I remember her appearance clearly from the times she visited us.

"What is it?" Arthur's voice drew his attention.

"She says she saw Gwen," Merlin relayed.

"Guinevere? I thought she was… How is that possible?"

Merlin shifted uncomfortably in his seat. He had yet to tell Arthur about the whole Morgana incident; he didn't want to worry him unnecessarily.

"Merlin? What are you not telling me?" Arthur said sternly.

"Uh… she may or may not be the first person to have randomly shown up since you came back?" He spoke rather quickly, hoping Arthur wouldn't catch on to what he was saying.

"What?!" No such luck. "Who else have you seen? Why didn't you tell me?!"

"I didn't want to worry you. You have enough on your plate trying to adapt, I didn't want you to get anxious about the reason you're back."

"Merlin. Who. Did. You. See?"

"…Morgana?"

Arthur's expression was a mixture of fear, hope, anger and betrayal. Merlin certainly hoped it wasn't aimed at him.

"When?" Arthur's voice was deathly calm, only serving to unsettle Merlin more.

"On Monday…"

"While you were at work? Is that why you were acting so strangely when you got back?"

"Ah…Yeah. She, um, she transferred from the American sister museum and she may have… walked in on me when I was… uh… not feeling well?"

Arthur knew that last bit was a lie, or at least not the full truth. Merlin knew that Arthur knew it wasn't the full truth. But, thankfully, he didn't push for details. Merlin didn't really want to tell him that he had been getting harassed by his dead girlfriend and father. Chances were, he didn't even know about them. Merlin kind of wanted it to stay that way. For as long as possible, at least.

Before Arthur had the chance to comment, the waiter returned with their orders.

"_I was able to get this for your dogs," _the waiter placed a plate containing two unseasoned steaks in the centre of the table. "_They've been cooked but with nothing added seasoning wise."_

"Thank you," Merlin smiled as Aithusa licked her lips at the sight of what was undeniably her dinner.

The waiter placed their food in front of them, nodded his head slightly and left to serve another table.

"Alright, you two," Merlin grabbed a fork and stabbed it into one of the steaks. "Enjoy this and no fighting." Aithusa happily tore her steak off the fork. Kilgharrah was much more civilised.

* * *

Moriah frowned and heaved a sigh of annoyance. Through the dreams that had plagued the last few years of her life, she had come to understand and accept her past life; the time when she was Morgause. She had spent much time thinking and plotting. If she was alive once again, was Uther? Arthur? That irritating servant, Merlin? Would she finally get her revenge? And what of Morgana? Morgause had died in one last attempt at ridding Camelot's throne of the Pendragons' once and for all, but she did not know the outcome. Had they succeeded? If the (horribly inaccurate) Arthurian legends were anything to go by, no.

Putting those thoughts aside for now, Moriah focused on tracking down her half-sister, assuming she existed in this life, of course. Once they were reunited, they could ascertain whether or not they needed to form a plan or revenge, and on whom.

With her forgotten memories came her magic. Although she had a previous lifetime to gain her power, in this life she was clumsy and slow. She was only just starting to get the hang of it. But her progress when she knew what she was doing was astounding. She was currently trying a scrying spell, but she didn't know anything about this life's Morgana, or if she even existed. Would she look the same? What was her name? After all, Moriah didn't share her name with her ancient counterpart. Other than that, though, they were practically the same.

Leaning over the shallow bowl of water, Moriah allowed the magic to course through her as she spoke, "_Geriht l__æ__c me."  
_  
Much like the last few times she'd tried it, nothing happened. No image of Morgana appeared in the water. Not even a ripple.

"Having trouble?"

The sudden, familiar voice made Moriah start, spinning around to face the intruder. Standing in the doorway was a beautiful young woman with light brown hair.

"Nimueh…" Moriah breathed.

"Yes. You are searching for Morgana, yes?"

"Is she here? In this time, I mean."

"She is. Much like many others. I can help you find her… if you'll repay the favour."

"What is it you ask of me?" Moriah was willing to do just about anything if it meant reuniting with her sister.

"I want the same thing you do. Revenge against those who stood against me."

"Uther?"

"Uther is no more. There is no reason for him to be in this time. However, his son, Arthur has risen again. It may not have been his destiny to die at my hand then, but there is nothing to stop me this time. And where we find Arthur, we find Merlin. I still have to repay him for my death."

"_Merlin_ killed you?" Moriah asked incredulously. He may have been a nuisance, but he was still just a servant. To kill a High Priestess such as Nimueh was no small feat. The Arthurian Legends portrayed him as a powerful sorcerer, but surely that was all they were; legends.

"Do not be fooled by appearances, Morgause," Nimueh frowned. "Merlin is magic. He is the one they call Emrys."

Moriah gaped. Emrys?! It couldn't be true. That servant had magic? _Was_ magic? "Then we must repay the favour."

Nimueh grinned darkly. Things were beginning to set into motion.


	6. Chapter 6

**Alrighty. I'm posting this chapter a day early (again) cause I'm moving tomorrow and I don't know if I'll get the time. **

**There is a prophesy in this chapter, but I ****_really_**** suck at those so I apologise if it's really lame.  
Yaeliz: Yeah, Gwen is so lovely :3 But don't worry, she'll be back! You're welcome. Thank you so much!**

Said the Liar 13: Hehe thank you ^w^ I thought it would be fun for Arthur to be as confused as possible XD

Disclaimer: IDOM

* * *

Morissa woke with a strangled gasp. She still felt like her throat was closing in and every breath was a struggle. She knew. After all the years of dreaming, witnessing the horrible, merciless things she'd done, she finally knew what had set her – Morgana – down the path of hatred and revenge. And she knew that she was Morgana, in some, unimaginable way. The thoughts that _she_ had done all those things made her stomach heave.

Morissa tumbled out of bed and dashed into her bathroom, expelling the contents of her stomach into the toilet.

Yes, she'd been betrayed by those she trusted. Yes, she had been scared and without anyone to help her (until Morgause found her). But was that an excuse to do the horrible things she'd done? Morissa didn't think so. Melvin's words from the other day replayed in her head. __

I think she allowed her anger and fear to take over. She didn't have the support she needed to reassure her that she was alright, that there was nothing wrong with her. So, she took the help where she could get it; it just happened to be from a person who was against Uther and Arthur…and Camelot. Maybe if things had've been different, if she'd received that support she so desperately needed, she wouldn't have drowned in her own anger and hatred. She could have been a great force for good.

Melvin. It couldn't be a coincidence that he looked identical to Merlin. Did he have dreams like she did? Did he remember everything that happened? If that were the case, it would certainly explain his reaction to her and the emotional intensity in his response to her question. If he really was Merlin, he'd better prepare himself for the lecture of a lifetime. And then she was going to ask for forgiveness. She understood why he had done what he had , betrayal aside. Maybe, in this life, they wouldn't have to be enemies. Maybe this was a second chance. A chance for redemption.

* * *

Since finding out about Merlin hiding his encounter with Morgana from him, Arthur had demanded a full explanation about everything. Merlin had tried to make excuses – 'it's a long story', 'does it have to be now?', 'I need my journal' – but had conceded that he would spill the beans once they got home. Apparently he hadn't been joking about needing the journal; a prospect that greatly saddened Arthur.

Merlin had been true to his word. Although, Arthur noticed when Merlin tried to skip over things, and forced him to talk. Now, lying awake in Merlin's bed (Merlin had been taking the couch since Arthur returned) in the middle of the night, Arthur was coming to regret having wanted the truth. Ignorance truly was bliss.

He couldn't even begin to fathom what he had done to earn such loyalty. He'd killed Merlin's girlfriend, for God's sake, and had been completely ignorant to the real reason that Merlin was acting off in the time afterwards. And what he'd told Merlin when Balinor had died: 'No man is worth your tears'. He had no idea how wrong he was. How would he ever be able to make it up to the ancient man sleeping in the next room?

Arthur didn't blame Merlin for what happened to Morgana; chances were she would've have changed anyway, and it would've just caused more problems. But, from the way Merlin refused to make eye contact and how his tone had lowered and how he hadn't needed to check the journal at all, it was quite clear that Merlin felt like it was his fault. That would have to change.

"…rlin…relax…kay…"

Whispers from the next room halted Arthur's thoughts. Judging from what he could hear, it was Aithusa talking.

"Merlin! … just… dream… not real…"

Arthur frowned. What was going on out there? Not feeling tired anyway, he pushed himself up and out of bed and headed into the next room.

It was dark, but light from a full moon coming in through the window illuminated the room enough to gain a reasonably clear image. Both dragons were awake, Kilgharrah on the backrest and Aithusa lying half wedged between Merlin and the back of the couch and half on top of him. They were both whispering to Merlin, who was apparently still asleep. At Arthur's shuffling footsteps, they both turned to him.

"Sorry, did I wake you?" Aithusa asked quietly.

"No, I was already awake," Arthur looked over at Merlin who was tossing and his brow furrowed like he was in pain. "Is he alright?"

"Just a nightmare," Kilgharrah replied. "It's not uncommon."

"Merlin," Arthur put a hand on one of Merlin's shoulders and shook it gently. "It's just a dream. Wake up."

Merlin shifted uncomfortably under Arthur's grip but made no other signs that he had acknowledged him. Arthur shook him a bit harder but Merlin still refused to wake.

"He's not normally this hard to wake up," Aithusa squeaked anxiously.

"Merlin," Arthur said in his best 'I-am-your-king-and-you-will-obey-me' voice. "If you don't wake up right now, I'll have you put in the stocks for a week." Arthur was fairly certain there weren't any stocks anymore (a shame, really) but he was sure he could find something similar.

Merlin's eyes shot open, flaring a brilliant gold. Arthur instinctively took a large step back and watched Merlin warily. He seemed unfocused, looking but not seeing.

"Merlin?" Kilgharrah probed for a response.

"_Beinnan swearce gesceaphwíl séo neaht gicel..._"

"What's he saying?" Arthur tried to keep his voice calm.

"…It is a prophecy," Kilgharrah made the dragon equivalent of a frown.

"_Se hláfordswica yfelwille geswin áwendednesse myrgnesse… Pá hrérenesse drýcræft gewédu… Séo emrys ágéniernep ende… Ac hwonne séo friþcandel be se draca… Se ætlimpeþ Calic béon á__funden_…" Merlin trailed off, his eyes shutting and his body growing still.

Slightly panicked, Arthur hurried forwards.

"Relax," Kilgharrah soothed. "He is merely sleeping."

"You said that was a prophecy," Arthur looked up at the golden dragon. "What did he say?"

"In the darkest hour of the night of ice," Aithusa recited quietly, "The Traitor's song of malevolence changes tune. The Tempest of Witchcraft rages, the immortal meets his end. But when the sun is eclipsed by the dragon, the lost Chalice will be found."

"What does that mean?"

"I don't know."

* * *

Merlin decided that sleeping on the couch wasn't doing him any good. Not only had he not been sleeping well, but now he had a sore back and had, according to his housemates, been spewing out prophecies in his sleep. He knew from experience that prophecies led to nothing but trouble. And this one, which specifically mentioned 'The Tempest of Witchcraft rages, the immortal meets his end', certainly wasn't going to be any different. And he _really_ didn't like the sound of the last bit.

Not to mention his lack of sleep had been causing an increase in the hallucinations. He used to only get them maybe once a week or a fortnight. This was the second time this week that he'd been reminded of his mental state and everything he regretted. Thankfully he'd yet to have a breakdown in front of Arthur (not including their first encounter; it wasn't a hallucination). Lord knows how the man would react.

So now here he was, walking to the staff common room to get a coffee refill, being tailed by apparition-Gwaine who continued to blame him for his death at Morgana's hand. Not a great start to the day.

Doing his best to ignore not-Gwaine, Merlin slipped in through the door and headed over to the kitchenette, not bothering to acknowledge anyone in the room. He never did; why start now? Unfortunately, life seemed to have it in for him today, because the people in the room were, for once, acknowledging him.

"Hey, Melvin," Morissa greeted.

Merlin could practically feel the looks she was getting. It was like high school; Merlin was the social outcast and you had to be crazy to talk to him.

Merlin looked over his shoulder and gave her a quick smile.

_Morgana_, not-Gwaine hissed. _Why are you just standing there?! Morgana is _right there _and you'd rather make coffee. I thought you were my friend. I thought you would do something to avenge me. Or at least attempt to redeem yourself for everything you've done and been the cause of!_

Merlin made a great effort not to reply to that. If he suddenly started talking to himself it would only lower his status from outcast to downright pariah. Not that he particularly cared. But, then, he didn't like revealing his fragile mental state. Especially to strangers (well, almost-strangers).

"I was wondering if I could talk to you about the Arthurian legends later. I'd love to get your opinion," Morissa continued in her too-cheery tone for this time of the morning.

_Man, she's persistent. Why is she so interested, anyway? Unless…_It couldn't be. Surely she didn't know the truth? Who she really was? Would she suddenly try to get revenge on him and try to kill him? Granted, being immortal meant whatever she tried would be destined to fail, but he still didn't really like the idea of bleeding uselessly or the sickness that came with being poisoned or whatever else she had in mind.

He was getting ahead of himself. All she asked was to talk about the legends. Surely if she meant him any harm she would have done it when they were alone on one of the two occasions she had come to his department.

_Yes. Say yes. You'll be alone and then you can take the opportunity to get rid of her! Do it for me! Do it for Arthur! Or Elyan, or Lancelot! I don't care; take your pick. Just get rid of her!_

Had Gwaine always been that murderous? "Ah… sure…" _but not for the reason you'd like, not-Gwaine_.

Now he had a distinct feeling that all eyes had turned to him.

"Great! I have another break at one o'clock. Is that alright with you?"

Merlin nodded as he stirred his coffee.

"Great. I'll see you then."

Merlin nodded again and retreated out of the room. Great. Simply fantastic. Now he was going to be forced to sit with Morgana and discuss Arthur. Wonderful. His day just got a whole lot worse.

* * *

Where had her confidence gone in the period between her morning tea break and one o'clock? Morissa had felt so sure of what she was going to do. Now she had no idea, she was nervous, and she was standing at Melvin's office door. She had suggested it, so she couldn't back out now. Although, judging from his body language, he would be more than happy for her to cancel.

But then she would never find out the truth. Was Melvin who she thought he was? Would she be given a chance to redeem her actions as Morgana? Maybe Melvin knew others who were from the past. Maybe she could apologise to them, too.

Morissa held up her hand to knock but paused when she heard talking coming from the other side of the door.

"You've been bothering me all day, why don't you just leave?"

A pause.

"I swear, you are the most annoying. I guess nothing's changed, then. But you normally leave in less than an hour. Why are you still here?"

Was he on the phone to someone? Gathering her courage, she knocked lightly on the door three times. The talking instantly fell away.

"Come in."

Morissa took a deep breath and turned the handle, pushing the door open. Melvin was seated at his desk, completely alone in the room. There was no sign of a phone and he was watching her intensely in that same, guarded posture that she had never not seen him in.

"Hello. Am I late?" She tried for casual conversation.

Melvin looked up at the clock on the wall. "No."

"Good," she walked in, shutting the door behind her, and took a seat in the small arm chair, dragging it forward so it was closer to the desk. "Shall we get started?" She said the last part to both Melvin and herself. At Melvin's affirmative nod, she continued. "So… the Arthurian legends… I'm not sure I find them terribly accurate."

Melvin narrowed his eyes. "What do you mean?"

"I guess there's not much evidence to support them and, judging by other records of the time period, it can be assumed that the documentation wasn't contemporary to King Arthur." Having pre-planned what she was going to say was definitely coming in handy. "What about you? Do you think that Arthur was real, or just a story?"

Melvin looked down at his desk, chewing his lip slightly. "I think that there might be some truth behind the legends, but many of them are probably just myths created by later authors designed to be simply a story, and we just haven't been able to derive fact from fiction accurately in the modern world."

"Then what about the whole 'Once and Future King', thing? Do you think Arthur will rise again in 'Albion's time of greatest need'?"

Melvin visibly flinched. Was he hiding something? Did he know something she didn't? Or was she merely over thinking things?

"It's possible."

"This is resurrection we're talking about. You believe it's possible to bring back the dead?"

"No. Bringing back the dead isn't possible. However, I believe it is possible to reincarnate."

Was that a huge clue? Should she just come out and say it? What if she was over thinking it? Just blurting out stuff about an undocumented past would only make him more uncomfortable around her. _Damn it, Morissa, stop thinking so hard! Maybe this calls for a more direct approach..._

"What about Merlin, the old wizard? What do you think about him?"

Melvin gave a short, humourless laugh. "He's an idiot."

Morissa frowned. Did he really think that? Was he talking about himself or the old man portrayed in the legends… although the real Merlin had taken on the form of an old man on more than one occasion. "Why do you say that?"

"Because it's true."

"I disagree."

Melvin snapped his gaze up to meet hers.

"I think he did what he thought was right at the time. Regardless of the way things played out, he was always trying to do what was right and that's all that matters. Those who disagree be damned."

Morissa studied Melvin's face but his expression remained unreadable. He suddenly flinched and threw a quick glance over his shoulder with his eyes.

"You seem to have strong opinions," Melvin said after a moment's silence. "So why did you want to discuss it?"

"I wanted to hear your thoughts. It's no good having an opinion based on personal biased beliefs without a contrast or comparison." _How am I going to ask him without actually asking? His answers are so vague and could be applied to both the legends and the memories._ "Does the name Emrys mean anything to you?"

Melvin flinched again. "...It means immortal. Why do you ask?"

"I…ah, heard it somewhere and was interested in how it applied to the Arthurian legends."

Melvin looked sceptical. Did he know she was lying?

"According to a particular prophecy," Melvin said carefully, "Emrys was supposed to help guide the Once and Future King in uniting the lands of Albion."

Morissa nodded. He was just telling her things she already knew. _There must be some way to just get a straight answer!_ "How do you know so much?"

"I've had a lot of time to study."

Morissa sighed. This was getting her nowhere. She may as well just come out and say it. If he doesn't know and he thinks she's crazy, then so be it. "You're Merlin, aren't you?"

Melvin choked on air, coughing a few times to clear his throat. "E-excuse me?" he rasped.

"You. You're Merlin. And Emrys. I must admit, I never saw that coming."

"Wha…what? No… you're…"

"Merlin."

Melvin watched her with wide eyes, carefully taking in every move, every twitch. Morissa thought he looked like he was preparing for an attack, which he probably was.

"Merlin, I'm sorry." Morissa took a shuddering breath as images of all the horrible things she'd done flooded to the forefront of her mind. "I'm sorry. For everything. I was so lost in my anger and grief that it clouded my judgement. I'm not proud of what I did and I'm glad it was you that killed me. I forgive you. For not telling me about your magic, for those times when you attacked me, and for my death. And I'm sorry. So, so sorry."

Melvin's initial shock quickly shifted to suspicion. Morgana had acted the loving woman once before, perhaps he was expecting it again now. Or maybe she was wrong and he was simply just Melvin.

"Please, Merlin. I know you probably find this hard to believe but it's true. If there's anything I can do to make it up to you, please tell me. I don't ask for acceptance, or even forgiveness; I don't deserve that. Please, trust me when I say that I just want to make things right."

"...I forgive you."


	7. Chapter 7

**So many line breaks in this one ^^;**

**So, my lovelies, I am happy to report that I have finished the week-long UniStart program and believe myself more prepared for when uni starts in a week.**

A HUGE thank you to everyone who reviewed, followed and/or favourited. It's a really big inspiration :3

**Emma162: I'm glad you like it ^w^ I was going for a bit of feels :P**

**Abb12: The reason I skipped over the revelation of Merlin's past was purely a mixture of laziness and not really being sure how do go about it. I'll focus on the main story for now, but I might add that as a companion fic or something later. We'll see. You'll be happy to know that you are right about the knights ;) Gosh, I'm smiling like an idiot. Thank you so much!**

**Yaeliz: Haha yeah, Arthur is a bit stupid, huh? Don't worry, I'll try to get him to be a bit more like how he used to be as we go on. I tend to let the characters lead me, and if he wants to be an idiot, that's what he'll do XD**

**Phoenixfire513: Haha thank you soooo much! I'm super happy you're enjoying it. I'm trying to keep updates regular (averaging for every Friday (Australian time))**

**Disclaimer: IDOM**

* * *

"I forgive you," Merlin found himself saying. Because, despite himself, he did. But, seeing the look of elation on her face, he felt the need to add, "But don't think this means I'm okay with what you did and, as I'm sure you know, trust isn't an easy thing to repair."

Morgana had done so many terrible things; she'd killed so many of his friends, had taken away his best friend (indirectly), and had been a great source of emotional turmoil in his life as he pondered the 'what if's and the regrets. For her to sit here, in front of him, in another life with a different perspective and apologise, genuinely remorseful, was a big thing. Granted, she had pulled this trick before back in Camelot, but Merlin could tell that the tears in her eyes and the pleading tone that she was genuinely sorry.

What?! You're going to forgive her? Are you crazy?! You do realise what she did to me, right? What everything she has done has cost us? You're an idiot, Merlin. The second you turn your back history will repeat itself. Do you really want to live through Arthur's death again? She's probably working as a spy for Morgause!

Damn, Merlin mentally cursed. For a moment he had forgotten not-Gwaine was there. He could practically feel the resentment rolling off the apparition. It wasn't heartening to know that it was directed at both corporeal bodies in the room.

The first tear slipped down Morissa's cheek and she was quick to swipe it away with the palm of her hand. "I know," she nodded quickly, "and I understand. But, hopefully, with time things can start to go back to the way they were…" She paused, apparently in deep thought. "So, then, it really is you? Not someone who just looks like you?"

"Yes. It's really me."

"Do… do you still have magic? In this life, I mean."

Merlin bit his lip and looked away. His immortality had always been a hard thing to talk about, but Morgana seemed to not know the full implications of the title 'Emrys'. "Of course I have magic. It's not like it's going to suddenly go away one day. You taught me that, actually. I guess I should thank you."

"I don't understand. Do you mean you've had it since you were born? Was it like that in your past life?"

"Yes, I was born with magic. No, I don't have a past life… that I remember, anyway."

"What do you mean? Surely you can't be saying that you never died? It's been a millennia since then. No man could live that long."

"I told you before, Emrys means immortal."

Had he been looking up, Merlin would have been prepared for Morgana suddenly getting up and wrapping him in an awkward hug as she leaned over the desk.

"That is too cruel," she whispered. After a moment she pulled away, sighing heavily as she resettled herself in the chair. "So, am I the only one to return or are there others?"

"Aithusa claims to have seen Gwen, but other than her and Arthur–"

I can't believe you're just giving away all this information! What if she turns against you again? She could hurt one of them and it'll be on your head. Again.

"Aithusa?! She's still alive? And Gwen? Arthur's back? So the prophecy was true, then?"

Merlin raised his eyebrows at the sudden onslaught of questions. Noticing his expression, Morgana was quick to silence herself.

"Aithusa died about five hundred years ago, but both she and Kilgharrah have been reborn."

"Kilgharrah?"

"The Great Dragon," Merlin elaborated. Morgana looked surprised but said nothing. "I haven't actually seen Gwen personally, but Aithusa wouldn't lie about something like this. As for Arthur, he turned up at my house last Saturday."

"I should like to apologise to Arthur, and see Aithusa…"

"Arthur gets pretty bored being locked up all day; I might be able to convince him to come with me to work. I could probably try a cloaking spell on Aithusa." Merlin seemed to go into himself as he continued, "although Kilgharrah won't want to be left at home by himself…man he's grumpy…"

Morgana laughed lightly. "I'd like that."

* * *

For someone who had left that morning in low spirits, Merlin seemed very cheery to Arthur.

"I take it you had a good day." He watched as Merlin put down his bag and washed his hands in the sink before beginning to prepare dinner.

"Yes, actually. Better work day than I've had in a long while." Merlin looked over to him. "I'd say you didn't."

"Well it's not my fault there's nothing to do in here, or that you lock the door with magic."

"Can't have you wandering off and getting lost."

"You could at least let me go look for Guinevere. Speaking of which, why haven't we started looking?"

"Because at the time she was spotted we were having dinner and we haven't had time since. And don't worry about being bored tomorrow, cause you're coming with me to work; I'll get you to help me translate some documents."

"What? Merlin, why am I going to your work? I thought you didn't want me to go anywhere?"

"Morgana wants to see you."

That statement managed to make every occupant of the room (except Merlin) flinch and tense. Arthur was going to Merlin's workplace because Morgana wanted to see him. Was he out of his mind?!

"Oh, and you, Aithusa. And I'm not leaving Kilgharrah on his own. So you're all going."

"Are you crazy?" Arthur stared at him incredulously. "Do you not remember what she did?"

"She apologised. She wants to make it up to us."

"Oh, so you're trusting her simply because she said she's sorry. Well, far be it for me to have any doubts," Arthur replied sarcastically.

"Arthur is right, Merlin," Kilgharrah said in his best 'wise' voice. "You should not be so quick to trust the witch."

"Well, you can see for yourself tomorrow because, like it or not, you're coming. Either that or I'll bring her here." Merlin said in a tone of finality.

"Merlin," Kilgharrah warned.

"Look, I already received the lecture from Gwaine, I don't need it from you, too."

"Gwaine?" Arthur frowned.

Too late Merlin realised what he had said and froze in place. "Ah… that is to say…"

"It was a hallucination wasn't it?" Aithusa asked quietly.

"...Yes," Merlin sighed. "He was following me around for hours and happened to be there when I was talking to Morgana."

From Merlin's subdued tone and his slightly hunched shoulders, Arthur deducted that this was a very sensitive topic. And, not being very good at being sensitive, he decided that getting back to the main problem would be beneficial for all parties.

"Who's to say that she won't attack us while your guard's down?"

Merlin looked up at him. "Who said anything about my guard being down? I forgive her, but that doesn't mean I accept what she did and it definitely doesn't mean that I trust her. Not completely. If she tries anything it'll be the last thing she ever does."

"You sound fairly confident. Did you forget how much trouble she was in the past?"

"I've had 1500 years to practice magic. She's only about 20 in this life and I'd say she's only just figured out who she is, so whatever skills she's managed to acquire in that short time would hardly be a match for mine; that's not bragging, just fact."

"You're not going to give me a choice, are you?"

"You don't have to come; I just thought you'd like to get out of the house for once."

"Alright! Fine! I'll go. But you'd better be right…"

* * *

Merlin felt strange walking up the steps to the museum with an ancient King and two dragons – even if said king couldn't be discerned from the rest of the population and the dragons were invisible to all except those who knew they were there.

The stares from his colleagues were also rather unsettling; even Arthur, who was used to getting attention, was looking intimidated. That probably had something to do with Merlin's 'outcast' status. They were used to seeing him on his own, walking silently, rather than alongside someone else and upholding a conversation.

"So this is where you work? The… uh, museum?" Arthur tilted his head back to get a good look at the arched ceiling.

"Yup. I was planning to bring you here at one point – they have artifacts here from around our own time period and I thought it might be good for you."

"I want to see the dinosaurs!" Aithusa chirped, but was quickly silenced by Merlin. She may not be able to be seen, but she could still be heard.

"Alright, I'll incorporate that into part of the tour."

"Melvin!"

Merlin turned to see Peter smiling widely and moving towards them. Aithusa jumped out of the way before he could step on her.

"Why did he call you Melvin?" Arthur asked.

"It's a fake name; Merlin isn't exactly common in this era."

"Good morning, Melvin," Peter smiled. "I'm Peter, how do you do?" he held his hand out to Arthur.

"What is he saying?" Arthur, recognising the gesture, shook Peter's hand.

"He says his name is Peter and he's asking how you are." Merlin was beginning to think he should have taken some time to look for a suitable language spell. "This is a good friend of mine, Arthur. He doesn't speak much English. He's been staying with me for the last few days so I thought I'd give him a tour of the museum."

"Ah, of course! If I can be of any assistance, you know where to find me!" With a final smile, Peter turned and headed to another arriving employee.

"He's my boss," Merlin explained as he led Arthur, Kilgharrah and Aithusa through to his department.

* * *

When Morissa turned up for work that morning, she knew that she would be reuniting with Arthur and Aithusa at some point during the day. 'Melvin', who was usually ignored, had become the centre of gossip. Her coworkers had retold that they'd seen him walking in alongside a blonde man and, not only was he talking, but he was smiling.

Morissa couldn't help but smile, herself. Merlin had seemed so on-edge the few times she'd seen him, so for him to be happy enough to actually smile was a big thing. And the mentioned blonde could only be Arthur, which meant either Arthur had agreed to see her, or Merlin had forced him to come. Either way she would be getting to apologise to her half-brother.

Her break couldn't come soon enough.

* * *

Keeping two dragons and a bored prat in his office turned out to be a harder task than Merlin anticipated. Kilgharrah was well behaved, quite enjoying to sit on a cleared space on Merlin's desk and read over his shoulder. No, Kilgharrah wasn't the problem.

Aithusa seemed to refuse to sit still for more than two seconds at a time. Her ceaseless restlessness had almost cost the lives of several important documents (thankfully, Merlin had been able to repair them with magic) and she hadn't stopped trying to convince him to let her wander around since they'd arrived. Merlin had already promised to take her to see the exhibits on his break, but apparently she couldn't wait.

Arthur wasn't much better. While he was able to read some of the documents, he had no love for literature like Merlin did and so, sat sprawled in the small armchair in the corner moaning about being bored and constantly asking how Merlin managed to sit there every day.

Thankfully, the noisy atmosphere had allowed Merlin's mind to stay preoccupied and, so far, no apparitions had decided to haunt him.

Why had he thought bringing them here would be a good idea?

Just when he was about to order Aithusa to sit down and shut up, a sharp knock on the door did the job for him. After a moment of all occupants of the room sitting frozen in place, Merlin found his voice and bid the visitor to enter.

* * *

Morgana opened the door and stepped into Merlin's office, shutting it gently behind her. The first thing she noticed was Merlin sitting at his desk watching her intensely. She offered him a bright smile and was relieved to see him return it, albeit a small one that was only a shadow of how she remembered it.

Her gaze then roamed until her eyes locked with a blonde man sitting in the armchair.

Arthur.

He was exactly how she remembered him, except for the modern clothes. He even bore the stern, intense expression, as if daring her to try something. He would be happy to know she had no such things in mind.

"I take it Aithusa didn't come?" she broke the uncomfortable silence, noting the absence of the white reptile.

"Both she and Kilgharrah are in the room," Merlin replied casually, although his expression mirrored Arthur's suspicion. "They're under a cloaking spell so those who don't know they're there won't see them."

And just like that, two extra bodies appeared in her vision. Seated on the desk beside Merlin was a small golden dragon, watching her with obvious hatred. That could only be the Great Dragon, although she found it was a weird feeling to see him so small.

Beside Arthur sat Aithusa. Morgana was overjoyed to see the small dragon looking healthier than she'd ever been. Her body was no longer twisted and crippled, and her skin was covered in gleaming white scales. She was, however, disappointed to see the love that was once in Aithusa's eyes was now an uneasy caution.

Figuring it would be best to start with the familiar, Morgana knelt down in place and stared into Aithusa's bright blue eyes.

"Hello, Aithusa," she said as calmly as possible. "It's been a long time. I'm glad to see you looking so well."

Aithusa said nothing, still holding her gaze warily. After a moment, she turned her head to look at Merlin, as if asking for permission. At Merlin's slight nod, Aithusa's attention returned to the reincarnated witch.

"My lady," Aithusa nodded her head in a brief bow.

Morgana couldn't stop the beaming grin that worked its way onto her face at the sound of the white dragon's voice. It was a sound she'd never thought she would hear. The Aithusa she remembered had been crippled to the point of muteness.

Feeling like she had gained some ground, Morgana shifted her attention to her half-brother, who was gripping the armrests of the chair in a white knuckled grip. She couldn't tell if he was restraining himself from attacking her or if he was nervous.

"Arthur," she tried to keep her voice steady. "I… I'm so sorry for everything that happened. I have wronged you in so many ways. Because of me, you have lost so much. I know that it is impossible for me to make amends for my actions, but I will try. I truly am sorry. If I could take it all back, I would do so without a second's hesitation."

Arthur's grip slackened but did not let go. There was a spark in his eyes, as if he was trying to connect the past Morgana with this new, reincarnated version – without the tainted soul that had tried to kill him on so many occasions (and had eventually succeeded).

"…I don't think I can forgive you," Arthur began slowly and Morgana felt her heart shatter. "But I am willing to continue on and move past what happened." Morgana smiled again. Arthur must have noticed the sudden change, for he quickly added, "This doesn't mean I trust you. I will be keeping a close eye on you."

"Of course! I understand completely. You would be a fool to trust me right away." Feeling more confident than she had a few moments before, Morgana stood and nodded to the Great Dragon; the last being yet to address. "I don't believe I've had the honour of meeting you."

The glare she received had her biting the inside of her cheek. "Morgana, unlike these three I have had no direct contact with you in the past life," his tone had a hard edge to it and she struggled to fight the urge to take a step back. "However, your actions have still caused a great deal of harm to me and I am not quick to overlook the past."

"I don't expect you to." It was clear that Kilgharrah was going to be the hardest one to win over. The room lapsed into an uncomfortable silence. Digging around for something to say, Morgana turned back to her half-brother. "So Arthur, how are you liking the modern world?"

Merlin gave a barely contained snort of amusement and Morgana looked at him with a raised eyebrow.

"It's certainly different. But I'm getting used to it." Arthur's attention hadn't left her for a moment and she was starting to feel uncomfortable. But at least he was willing to talk to her in friendly conversation.

Yes, Morgana thought, she could fix this.


	8. Chapter 8

**I'm so sorry! This is a day late, I know. My only excuse is that I was switching between my place and my dad's place so I was a little busy. No excuses, I know. I'll try harder next time. Or maybe I'll move the upload date...**

**Phoenixfire513: Thank you so much! =^w^=**

**Yaeliz: Yush. Thank you! Aahhh, now I'm smiling like an idiot XD**

**Disclaimer: IDOM**

* * *

As he moved into the living room, Arthur's eyes fell upon the form of Merlin, who was standing with a hand on his chin as he stared critically at the wall as if it had wronged him somehow. He silently watched the scene play out for a moment before his curiosity got the better of him and he asked, "What are you doing?"

Merlin spared him a quick glance before returning his gaze to the wall. "Thinking."

"Well don't think too hard, wouldn't want you to hurt yourself."

"Aw, you _do_ care," Merlin grinned, placing a hand on the smooth wood.

Arthur let the gibe pass with a noncommittal grunt. "Seriously, what are you doing?"

"What about the trees?" Aithusa suddenly asked. "Are they far enough back?"

"I think so," Merlin replied, ignoring Arthur's question. "But, then, I don't plan on making it very big."

Aithusa turned and appraised Arthur for a moment before returning her attention to her Dragonlord. By now, Kilgharrah had also taken an interest in the proceedings and stopped beside the slightly smaller white dragon.

Merlin's eyes flashed gold as he uttered, "_W__eallgeweorc__, __gel__í__c ger__ú__m __æ__t__í__e_."

As he spoke, the wall inverted as a doorway appeared, through which Arthur could see wooden walls rising up from seemingly nowhere. A roof appeared on top and the ground leveled out into a wooden floor. Merlin removed his hand and stepped through the newly formed doorway, admiring his handiwork.

And suddenly Arthur understood.

Merlin had built him a room.

"So," Merlin grinned from ear to ear. "What do you want in it?"

"Well, the usual bedroom things would be a good start," Arthur said mockingly but there was a smile on his face.

Merlin turned away from him and held a hand out towards the far wall. "_Beddrest æ__t__í__e __innan __þes__geruma._" He did the same in several other spots in the room, the spell used altering slightly each time, and soon the once bare room was filled with a large bed, a side table, a dresser and a mirror – which Merlin had claimed was so he wouldn't hog the bathroom to appease his vanity.

It took only a few minutes to move Arthur's meager belongings from Merlin's room to his new one.

* * *

"While I'm thinking of it," Merlin announced as he, Arthur, and the two dragons (disguised as dogs) headed down the path to the main road, "Do you want me to make it so you can understand the newer English?"

Arthur hesitated. Yes, he wanted to be able to interact properly in this new world, but he was still just getting used to magic and he wasn't sure how he felt about willingly having it used on him. They were currently going on a search for Guinevere – Merlin finally had a day off – but what if they found her and she only spoke modern English? If he didn't let Merlin cast the spell on him, he would have to learn it the hard way and who knew how long that would take?

"Alright, fine," Arthur sighed heavily. "Do it."

Merlin stopped and turned so they were directly facing each other. Almost hesitantly, Merlin reached out and placed his palm on Arthur's forehead. With unnerving gold irises, Merlin spoke the incantation. Then the hand was gone and all eyes were watching him expectantly.

"_Did it work?_" Merlin asked, hope glimmering in his eyes.

"I don't know, I don't feel any different."

But Merlin was smiling again and even the dog-dragons looked pleased.

"What?" Arthur suddenly felt very self-conscious.

"_Can you understand what I'm saying?"_

"Yeah…" and then he realised that Merlin wasn't talking in Old English. "_Oh_, then I guess it worked."

"Try talking in modern English," Merlin suggested as they resumed walking.

"What should I say?"

"I don't know. Anything. Try introducing yourself or something."

Arthur frowned in concentration. "Uh… _Hello, I'm Arthur Pendragon?_"

"We'll have to fix that," Merlin matched his frown as they emerged from the forest and stepped onto the pavement lining the road.

"Fix what?"

"You can't go around calling yourself Pendragon in this day and age or people will think you're insane."

"What? Why? What's wrong with Pendragon?"

There was something Merlin wasn't telling him. Like when he had explained that he used a fake name simply because 'Merlin' wasn't common anymore. It hadn't been common to begin with! There was definitely something more to it.

"Merlin," he said seriously. "I thought there were no more secrets between us."

Merlin looked guiltily away. "Well… you see… there are, um, legends. About us. And the Knights of the Round Table and just Camelot in general."

Arthur stopped dead in his tracks. "Wait. Legends?"

"Yeah. We're pretty famous. But they're horribly inaccurate. For some reason, everyone seems to think I'm an old man–"

"You are an old man." And, though it pained him to say it, it was true. He really was.

"–with a long white beard. I only used that aging spell a handful of times!" Merlin huffed. "And don't even get me started on you. Some people think that Mordred was your son."

Arthur choked on air. "What?!"

Merlin shook his head with an incredulous laugh, signaling for them to keep moving.

"At least you're mentioned," Aithusa spoke up, sharing a meaningful glance with Kilgharrah. "The only real mention of dragons is when they're being slain."

Arthur didn't miss the pained expression that flickered across his manservant's face.

By that point they had reached the edge of the central part of the town.

"So where should we start looking?" Arthur asked, scanning the streets as if expecting to see Gwen step out to greet them.

"Well, Aithusa said she saw her across the road from the restaurant we ate at, so that's probably the best place to start." Merlin looked down at the two dog-dragons. "You two let me know if you see anything – but not out loud," he quickly added. The last thing they needed was for people to freak out.

The four-legged companions nodded their agreement and kept vigilant look-out. Their senses were superior, after all.*

In a matter of minutes they had reached the point where Gwen had been spotted but there was no sign of the queen. Not that any of them had expected to see her there, but nevertheless there was still that small feeling of disappointment.

Aithusa had taken to more dog-like habits and was sniffing at everything in sight, trying to identify a scent that she could associate with Gwen. Kilgharrah gave her odd glances every now and again and, although no words were exchanged between them, Merlin was sure he was just a little bit irritated by Aithusa's actions. But, to be fair, she was still young. Not everybody had to act mature like Kilgharrah.

Merlin was broken out of his ponderings as both Kilgharrah and Aithusa's heads shot up. Kilgharrah, being mature and responsible, remained in place but Aithusa bolted, barking loudly as she went.

* * *

Gwendolyn stretched and took off her apron. It was finally her lunch break and she was looking forward to sitting down for a rest.

"I'll be back in half an hour," she called out to her coworkers before promptly heading out of the café and onto the main street.

She had only taken a few steps before the sound of a dog barking caught her attention and she turned around just as a pure white dog with blue eyes jumped up on her, almost knocking her off her feet. It was the dog that she had seen only a few days prior. The dog belonging to the real world version of 'Arthur and Merlin'.

"Oh, hello," she said, easing the dog back to the ground and kneeling before it. "Are you lost? Where are your owners?" she asked as she petted its head.

She grabbed the small silver tag hanging from the dog's collar and flipped it over, reading the name that was inscribed there.

_Aithusa_.

No. No, it wasn't possible! Gwen's hand flew to her mouth as she stared at the impossible word. In her dreams, Aithusa had been the white dragon that had allied with Morgana. Aithusa had been the same dragon that she had grown so fond of when she went to visit Merlin by the lake all those years after Arthur's death. Surely it was just a coincidence. Right?

"They're coming! Gwen! It's really Gwen!"

Gwen sat rigid as she stared wide eyed at Aithusa, whose tail was wagging a mile a minute. She had _not_ just heard the dog talk. There was _no way_ that was possible. _Good lord, I really _am _going mental_.

The sounds of pounding footsteps had her looking up to see 'Arthur' and 'Merlin' stopping a few paces short of her, both sporting wide-eyed expressions. By 'Merlin's' side was another dog, but this one was golden in colour.

Aithusa turned away from her and lowered her head at the stern expression she was receiving from both 'Merlin' and the golden dog (if dogs were capable of such expressions). 'Merlin' bent down and attached a leash to the white dog's collar, muttering "If you don't want to be restricted, don't run off."

Gwen slowly rose to her feet, her eyes never leaving the two men who were the spitting image of the two from her recurring dreams. What kind of coincidence was this? How had her mind been able to come up with such a thing – to even make a dragon form out of the white dog, and know it's name?

Something in her eyes must have given away her confusion, for the blonde uttered an almost inaudible, "Gwen?"

"Arthur?" She wasn't sure why she had called him by that name, nor why her voice shook with such emotion that was both foreign and so familiar at the same time. But when he merely nodded, she felt her heart squeeze in her chest. It was real. _The dreams were real_. The tears were falling now, streaming down her cheeks like a dam had burst. Without thinking about what she was doing, she raced forward and flung herself into his arms, calling his name like she expected him to be torn away once more.

* * *

Arthur wrapped his arms around Guinevere – _his_ Guinevere – and held her close. He couldn't believe it was really her. Couldn't believe that even now, over a thousand years out of his time, Gwen was with him. He wasn't sure what he would've done without her unwavering support.

Throughout their exchange, Merlin had stood to the side, a firm grip on Aithusa's leash to stop her from her public displays of affection for the queen getting in the way of their moment, and absently stroking Kilgharrah's head with his free hand. Kilgharrah didn't look pleased but nor did he pull away. In that moment, Arthur felt a stab of guilt pierce him. Here he was, reveling in the presence of his love, while Merlin had to stand on without his. He would never forgive himself for what he had done, even if Merlin didn't blame him.

Gwen pulled herself out of his embrace and looked up him in the eyes. "Oh, Arthur, I can't believe it's really you!" she cried, wiping her tears on the back of her hand. "I… I always thought they were just dreams, but now…" she trailed off and turned her attention to Merlin. "Merlin," she spoke quietly and a fresh wave of tears began to fall, for once at a loss for words. "You're here. You… did you ever…?"

Merlin shook his head sadly. "It's alright, Gwen." He gave her his biggest smile but that only seemed to upset her further and she moved over to him and wrapped him in a hug. Gwen had been with him the longest; the first friend he'd made and the last one to leave. She had continued to visit him after the others had passed, and when she became too old to make such a journey, he went to her. She had been with him, as she aged and he remained untainted by time, through thick and thin. And only she had seen the full implications of his seemingly endless life.

God, how he'd missed her.

"That fate is too cruel," she sniffed. "But it's good to see you again."

"And you," Merlin replied, returning the gesture.

Once she had pulled away, Gwen averted her attention to the two dogs. "You named her Aithusa," she smiled, scratching behind the white dog's ears.

"Well, that _was_ her name; I saw no reason in changing it."

Gwen froze and stared long and hard at both Merlin and Aithusa. "Wait. Surely you don't mean…"

"Oh!" Merlin seemed to catch on to what she was saying. "Well, yes and no. This is the Aithusa you remember, but like you she has been reborn." He leaned forward and whispered conspiratorially, "She's in disguise."

"So I'm not delusional. She really did speak."

Merlin looked surprised but quickly turned his expression into a glare which he directed at Aithusa who had the sense to look apologetic.

"Who's this?" Gwen asked, gesturing to Kilgharrah.

"Oh, right. You two never met in person, huh?" Merlin ruffled the fur on top of Kilgharrah's head, earning him a low growl. "This is Kilgharrah, or perhaps more memorable as the Great Dragon."

"_That's_ the Great Dragon?" Gwen parroted in disbelief, her tone no longer betraying her emotional state. Upon seeing the look on Kilgharrah's face, however, she quickly amended, "Oh, I didn't mean that in a bad sense, it's just that you're a lot smaller than last time and in a completely different form. And last time you were attacking everybody but now you just seem so docile. Not to say that this form or being docile is bad or anything–"

"Gwen," Merlin interrupted, a lilting tone to his voice. "It's okay."

Gwen quickly clamped her mouth shut. As if suddenly remembering something important, she looked down at the watch on her wrist. "Oh," she exclaimed. "I'm only on my lunch break; I have to head back to the café in twenty minutes."

"What time do you get off?" Arthur asked, looking at the small clock curiously.

"Three."

"We'll come get you, then," Merlin suggested.

"Would you all like to come around to my place for dinner?"

"We'd love to."

* * *

***I've gotta say, while dogs have great senses, in my personal experience they seem to be rather blind. Even after pointing to the piece of food on the ground for several long minutes they still can't see it and look at me like I'm mental. Ignoring this, Kilgharrah and Aithusa are dragons, and therefore have brilliant eye sight and do not require you to point at a scrap of food for hours on end before you eventually just give up and hand it to them.**


	9. Chapter 9

**Hello, you lovely people :3**

**An early update today, because I don't trust myself to be on time tomorrow ^^; Fridays are apparently stupid for me...**

This and the following chapter are probably one of my favourites. I don't know why, they just are.

Yaeliz: Dogs are so funny :') And their little quirks just make them so much more loveable. Yeah, I was wanting to get Gwen back into the picture for **_ages_**** and finally managed to figure out the best way to do it. Thank you so much for your constant reviews *gives you this chapter as a present***

Any questions? Theories? Ideas? Criticism? I'd love to hear from you :3

Disclaimer: IDOM

* * *

Dinner at Gwen's house had been… different, to say the least. Unlike Merlin's little lake-side shack, it was undeniably modern, with all the features and appliances one would expect to see in a house of that era. And Arthur thought Merlin's technology had been complicated.

Kilgharrah and Aithusa had returned to their true forms upon Gwen's insistence, and Aithusa had stuck to the queen like glue the entire night.

When all had settled down to eat, Gwen had told them about her current life – her parents weren't the same ones as before but her brother, whose name was Evan, was indeed Elyan. She told them about her job at the café, and the dreams she'd been having. At Arthur's insistence, she told of her life as queen after Camlan, how the others died and, finally, how she herself had gone. At this point she had started crying – not for herself, but for Merlin. After all, his life had continued on long after Camelot.

Both Arthur and Gwen had asked about what had happened to Camelot, so Merlin told them. His voice rich with emotion, Merlin spoke of the turmoil the kingdom had fallen into without an heir to claim the throne. How various nobles had argued and fought amongst themselves over who would be the next ruler. How neighbouring kingdoms had seized the moment of weakness and invaded. And how he had done nothing to stop them. In his eyes, without Gwen and Arthur, there was no point. Camelot would have only been tarnished by another monarch – better to just let it go. The two royals had grieved for their kingdom, but did not blame their friend in the slightest.

When the night wore on and the time came for them to leave, they said their goodbyes like it was their last. Gwen had promised that the next time they met she would have Elyan with her.

* * *

"Good morning, _Melvin_."

Merlin frowned as an elbow was jabbed into his side. Morgana grinned at him, readjusting the handle of her bag on her shoulder.

"_Morissa_," he returned with a smirk and a slight nod of his head.

"How was your weekend?" she asked, falling into step beside him as they moved through the museum's entrance hall.

"Caught up with Gwen."

Morgana stopped dead in her tracks. "Gwen? You found _Gwen_?!"

"Actually, Aithusa found Gwen. But, yes, we did."

Morgana's smile broadened and Merlin found himself smiling too at the pure, untainted joy that lit up her face. "Could you please take me with you next time you go see her?"

Merlin opened his mouth to respond but quickly slammed it shut, his eyes widening as he took in the cluster of police and investigators standing around a strip of yellow tape blocking the entrance to the medieval section.

"What happened?" he asked, hurrying over to the nearest officer. At the hesitant look the officer gave him he added, "I work here."

"There was a break-in last night."

"What?" Morgana tried to see past the authorities and into the next room. "What was stolen?"

"Nothing," the officer replied. "Whatever they were looking for, they didn't find it."

Merlin furrowed his brow. That section in particular was filled with priceless artifacts. Why would someone break in and not take _anything_?

Seeing the two weren't going to say anything more, the officer excused himself and returned to the investigation.

Merlin and Morgana exchanged a look.

"Excuse me."

Merlin and Morgana stepped aside, apologies on the tips of their tongues but stopped when they saw who was behind them.

"Leon?!" they cried in unison. For the man was the spitting image of Arthur's second in command back in Camelot. Merlin thought the police uniform suited him well.

Leon frowned, obviously confused. His eyes widened with something akin to recognition but before he had the chance to voice his thoughts, he was interrupted.

"Officer Stiles!"

Leon turned his attention to the officer who had called him and, with a muttered apology to the two dumbstruck museum workers, joined the rest of his team.

Noting the time, Merlin and Morgana pulled themselves away from the site and headed towards their respective sections, whispering and looking back over their shoulders as they went.

* * *

Leon Stiles was frustrated. He was supposed to be focusing on the investigation! So why was it he couldn't seem to keep his mind off the two museum employees from earlier? It was unnerving, the way they had known exactly who he was despite never having met. Unless…

No. Dreams were just the product of an active mind. They weren't real.

So why couldn't he stop thinking about it?

The man… he was identical to Merlin, Arthur's manservant, right down to the neckerchief tied around his neck. And the woman…

She was the spitting image of Morgana.

Leon's heart clenched. What if she _was _Morgana? What if, somehow, the dreams were real? Morgana had turned against them, done everything in her power to kill them all and take the throne. And, right now, she was close to Merlin.

Despite how ridiculous it was, Leon was consumed with an unyielding desire to hurry and find Merlin; to protect him from the witch that wouldn't hesitate to kill him – all-powerful warlock or not.

"I'm going to take my lunch break," he announced, heading off in the direction he had seen the raven-haired man disappear earlier that morning. He ignored the niggling thought that the dream-induced paranoia was getting to him. He knew he wouldn't be able to focus on his job if he didn't at least check.

Leon paused as it occurred to him that he had no idea what section Merlin worked in. Spotting an information desk, he wandered over, prepared to use his position of authority to find the man, if necessary.

"Hello, how can I help you?" the plump woman behind the desk smiled pleasantly.

"I'm looking for one of the employees. He's tall, dark hair, red neckerchief," Leon described.

"Oh, you must mean Melvin." She glanced at her watch and grabbed a visitor map. "At this time he should still be in his office." As she spoke, she drew arrows on the map and circled the coloured block that represented Melvin's office. "He's not in trouble, is he?"

"No," Leon smiled, taking the offered map. "I just wanted to speak with him."

"Good luck, then."

Leon met her eyes, the unspoken question hanging in the air between them.

"It's just, he's a bit hard to approach," she explained. "Not much of a talker; prefers his own company. Oh, but you're an officer. I'm sure you'll have no trouble."

Leon nodded his thanks and followed the directions on the map. _Hard to approach and not much of a talker? That doesn't sound like Merlin at all…_ A door marked 'Literature & Archives' signaled the end of his journey and he smiled at the name tag labeled 'Melvin Emery' underneath. He knocked lightly and waited for the call of 'enter' before opening the door.

The literature and archive section reminded him strongly of the library in his dreams of Camelot. Shelves containing a vast amount of books and papers took up the majority of the space and doors showed promise of more out of sight. A small armchair was pushed up against the side of one of the shelves and a large wooden desk stood opposite it.

Seated at the desk was none other than Melvin himself, who was concentrating on a piece of parchment spread on the desk in front of him. He glanced up at Leon and quickly got to his feet, an expression of surprise on his face.

"Officer?" he nodded in greeting.

And then Leon realised he hadn't thought through what he was going to say. 'Hi, I just wanted to make sure Morgana didn't kill you'? There was no way that would go down well.

"Is there something I can help you with?" Melvin asked uncertainly.

"Earlier… how did you know my name?" It really had been bothering him.

"Oh… um, well… I guess I mistook you for someone else… who happens to be called Leon."

Leon could tell by the man's slightly flustered tone and the way he was tapping his fingers on the desk that there was more to it than that.

"So, uh, how do you like working in the police force?"

"I enjoy it," Leon replied, noting the way Melvin had changed the subject. He moved further into the room to scan the titles of various tomes lining the shelves. "I guess I've always had a calling to do something to protect – both the people and my country. What about you? Enjoy museum work?"

Melvin fidgeted. "It has it's perks. I figured, if I have the knowledge I may as well put it to good use." His voice had taken on a harder edge, hinting to a deeper meaning in his words.

"Well, I've got to get back to work." Leon grabbed a pen from his shirt pocket and quickly scrawled down his phone number on a piece of note paper. "If you learn anything on the break-in, give me a call; I'm head of the investigation," he explained at Melvin's questioning look.

Melvin nodded again and watched in silence as Leon left the room.

* * *

Morgana looked up from her salad roll as Merlin walked into the staff common room.

"_Melvin_," she called in the mocking tone they had started using when calling each other by their fake names.

Merlin looked back at her from where he was pouring boiling water into a cup of instant noodles.

"Come sit," she encroached, patting the free spot beside her invitingly. The other employees watched her with raised eyebrows, but she ignored them.

Merlin rolled his eyes but obliged, setting his lunch down on the small coffee table while it cooked.

"You know, _Melvin_, you should really eat healthier."

"Oh, I'm sorry, _Morissa_," he smirked. "I didn't know my lunch had to meet your standards."

"Well it does, so do try to do better tomorrow." Really, why were the others so shocked to see the man partaking in a conversation? Had any of them even _tried_ talking to him?

"It's good enough for Arthur." The unspoken 'and he's a king' was not left unnoticed.

"Good Lord, you haven't got him hooked on junk food, have you?"

"No, but I don't trust him to cook and I didn't have time to make anything better this morning."

"Scared he's gonna burn your house down?"

"Yes, actually. Even Kilgharrah and Aithusa are more trustworthy in that aspect." He picked up his noodles and began mixing them with his fork. "Leon stopped by my department earlier."

Morgana, who had been about to take another bite of her toll, paused. "Did he recognise you?"

"I don't know. He asked why I knew his name but I could tell that wasn't the real reason he came."

"What did you tell him?"

"That I must have mistaken him with someone else."

"And he bought that?" Morgana asked skeptically. She couldn't begin to fathom how Merlin had kept his secret in Camelot for so long when he was so terrible at lying.

Merlin shrugged and ate a mouthful of noodles. "It could be like what happened with Gwen… and you."

Morgana went to reply but noticed the other employees pretending not to be listening. "_You think he could just be trying to figure out why he has dreams about people he doesn't remember meeting?_" The switch to Old English was easier than she thought it should be. She was pleased to note the confused faces on the other employees' faces.

"_Could be. I mean, we did call out his name. He gave me his number, in any case_." Seeing the look on her face he hastily added, "_Told me to call him if I had any information on the break-in._"

"_Maybe we should let him meet Arthur. That might jog his memory._"

"… _That might not be such a bad idea_."

"_You doubted me?_"

"_Well, to be fair, most of your other plans failed._"

Morgana whacked him in the arm with an expression of mock insult. "_No thanks to you._" Her voice became solemn and she looked down at her half-eaten lunch. "_I'm glad they did._"

"And through here is the staff common room," Peter's voice called from the other side of the door. The door opened, revealing aforementioned man. Following closely behind was a man that had both Merlin's and Morgana's mouths dropping open in shock.

"_Percival?!_"


	10. Chapter 10

**I'm so so so so so sorry! I won't bore you with excuses; the details of my technological breakdown are on my profile page. I'm giving you two chapters to catch up and as an apology.  
**

**Disclaimer: IDOM**

* * *

_"Percival?!"_

All eyes turned to Merlin and Morgana at their sudden outburst, but Merlin hardly noticed. His attention was firmly stuck on the bear of a man who was accompanying Peter.

"Is something wrong?" Peter asked, smiling cautiously.

"Uh, no, sorry," Merlin quickly looked down at his lunch, sneaking glances at the ex-knight every now and then.

"Staff, I would like you to meet Percy Dykes. He will be working as our newest night security guard from today onwards."

There was a general murmur of welcome from the other employees, and Merlin and Morgana turned to each other, a silent '_are you seeing what I'm seeing?_' passing between them. They watched, dumbstruck, as 'Percy' greeted them all with an inclination of his head before following Peter back out of the room.

In unspoken agreement, Merlin and Morgana rose from their sears and left also. They needed somewhere private to talk.

They had barely made it fifty metres before something grabbed Merlin by the arm and hauled him backwards. Too shocked to even gasp, Merlin staggered. When the world had righted itself once more, he looked up to see Percival standing protectively in front of him, staring down a rather wide-eyed Morgana, who stood a few paces ahead.

Before Merlin could so much as call out, Percival was advancing on the witch. He bore no weapon, but he didn't seem too bothered – the memory of Gwaine's death was likely at the forefront of his mind.

"Wait, Percival!" Merlin cried, but if the big man had heard, he showed no sign.

Morgana was speechless, taking a step back for every one Percival took towards her. Without warning, the knight struck out. Throwing caution to the wind, Merlin held out his hand, feeling the magic flowing through him.

"_Oþs__tille!_"

Percival froze, his fist mere inches from Morgana's gaping face. Wasting no time, Merlin moved between them, holding his hands towards Percival in a placating manner.

"Thank you, Merlin," Morgana muttered.

Merlin spared her a quick glance before turning back to his friend. "Okay, Perce," he said slowly. "I'm going to let you go, but you have to promise to calm down and hear us out." He released the magic holding Percival with a flash of his eyes, but kept it at the ready in case he needed it again.

Percival straightened his posture and looked worriedly between the two magic users.

"Let's go somewhere we can talk."

* * *

Percy was aware that he had a past life, back in the days of King Arthur and Camelot, when he had been Sir Percival. The memories had come to him in dreams, and their recurring nature indicated they were more than just dreams.

So when he'd followed his new boss into the staff common room and heard twin cries of 'Percival', well, that truly was the final confirmation, wasn't it? He had been delighted to see the young man with the red neckerchief staring at him in disbelief, but the woman next to him quickly replaced that happiness with icy fear and righteous anger. Anger for what she had done, and fear for what she might yet do.

He had been reluctant to leave the room with Peter – what if she attacked Merlin and he didn't get there in time to help him? The raven had been a powerful warlock in the past, but the present was undetermined.

Percival had excused himself at the first opportunity and was just in time to see the two people plaguing his thoughts leaving the staff room. Not willing to let the chance pass, he had grabbed Merlin and shielded the smaller man with his body. Weapon or no, he wouldn't let the _witch_ harm his friends. Never again.

He lunged, ready to pulverize Morgana with his bare hands, but a single word uttered in the language of the Old Religion stopped him in his tracks. Percival couldn't believe his eyes when Merlin moved to _protect Morgana_. Had he sided with her? Or had she put him under some kind of enchantment like she had with Gwen?

"Okay, Perce, I'm going to let you go, but you have to promise to calm down and hear us out," Merlin said soothingly.

Percival could feel movement returning to his limbs as Merlin's eyes flashed a brilliant gold. Yes, he would allow his old friend a chance to explain. There was a perfectly good explanation for why the most loyal man he had ever met was protecting the woman who had caused the deaths of most of his closest friends.

"Let's go somewhere we can talk."

So Percival had willingly followed Merlin and a rather nervous Morgana to the literature and archive department of the museum.

* * *

When they had arrived at Merlin's office, Morgana made a beeline for the armchair before she fell over. Merlin had been genuinely shocked and impressed when she hadn't even tried to defend herself with magic or even more conventional methods.

Merlin leaned against the edge of his desk and looked over at Percival, who was hovering awkwardly in the doorway. He briefly wondered what he should say. The man was clearly waiting for an explanation. It was, surprisingly, Morgana who broke the silence.

"Percival, I am _so, so_ sorry."

This hadn't been what the large man was expecting, if the look on his face was anything to go by.

"The things I did, I know, are unforgiveable," Morgana continued. "I don't want forgiveness. Nothing I ever do would make me worthy of such a thing. All I ask is that you give me another chance; a chance to prove that I've changed and that I'm sincere when I say I only wish to make it up to you." She glanced at Merlin. "_All_ of you."

Percival's face was a mixture of emotions, all fighting for dominance. It was like he was battling wanting to believe her and the memories of everything she had done. It was how Merlin had felt and was the reason he doubted he would ever fully trust her. Trust was much like glass, after all.

"If it makes you feel any better, if she tries anything she'll be dealing with me. And I can assure you that I've gotten in a lot of practice over the last 1500 years. I can even hold a sword without impaling myself now."

That got him a ghost of a smile… until the comment about his lifespan sank in.

"Arthur's willing to let her try and prove herself."

Percival's head shot up. "Arthur?"

Merlin grinned at hearing the large man's voice. "Yeah, he's back at my place. Came out of the lake last week."

Percival's smile dropped as he looked over at Morgana. "You took away so many people who were important to me. You _tortured_ Gwaine. And I'll never forgive you for that."

Morgana nodded, her eyes wet with unshed tears.

"But if you truly have changed, then I will trust my king and Merlin's judgment."

Morgana was practically beaming at him and Merlin was sure that was the longest string of words he'd ever heard Percival utter in one go.

"I swear I'll do everything I can to prove it to you. And Merlin," she looked from one to the other. "If I ever go back on my word I give you permission to kill me."

Merlin frowned. He hoped it would never have to come to that.

Percival crossed his arms and rose his brow. "So, Merlin, what was that you said about 1500 years?"

* * *

"Merlin's coming," Aithusa hummed, getting up from where she'd been trying to get comfortable on the rug.

Kilgharrah raised his head towards the door and Arthur sat up straighter in his chair.

As if on cue, the front door sung open and in walked Merlin, a grin splitting his face. "I'm home."

Aithusa hurried over and danced around his feet. "Welcome home~"

_I found two more today_, Merlin's voice spoke in her mind.

_Who did you find?_ Kilgharrah asked.

_And why are we talking using mind speech?_ Aithusa chimed in.

"You're cheery," Arthur noted.

"I had a good day. Am I not allowed to be cheery?" Telepathically, he added, _Leon and Percival. Percival remembers, but I'm not sure about Leon. I think he at least suspects the truth. I don't think we should tell Arthur yet._

"At least one of us did," Arthur grumbled. "There has to be _something_ decent to do around here."

_Why not?_ Aithusa frowned.

_Because that way I can bring them all around at once and surprise him_. "You could clean up."

Arthur looked very much like he wanted to protest – no doubt saying something about kings and servants – but instead sighed and put his head down on the table.

_What happened to 'no more secrets'?_ Kilgharrah accused.

_Well, this is a good secret. Like when you plan a surprise party._

Ooh! Can we have a party?! Aithusa gasped excitedly.

_Hmm, maybe we could do something. But let's wait until we find the others. _"So, there was a break-in at the museum last night."

"And you're _happy_ about that?" Arthur looked at him like he was insane.

"What? No, I'm not happy about it! I just thought you would want to know."

"What was taken?" Kilgharrah asked in concern.

"That's just it. Nothing was taken. I don't know who they were or what they were after, but they didn't get it. It might not have even been there for them to find."

"Do you think it might be linked to the reason we all returned?" Aithusa sat down, growing serious.

"I don't know. It might be – it was the medieval section that was broken into – but what were they looking for?"

"Maybe Excalibur," Arthur suggested.

"Well, if that _is_ what they're looking for, they'll never find it.

"I'm still not happy about that."

"If we need it again, Freya will return it to me."

Arthur fell silent. It was quite clear that he still wasn't okay about _that_, either. But the only one who blamed him was himself. Kilgharrah blamed Fate, Aithusa the witch who had cursed the druid girl, and Merlin (like Arthur) himself (Merlin). That was something they all tried to change.

Conversation having dwindled, Merlin set about preparing dinner, muttering something about Morgana and approval.

* * *

Merlin decided that it might be a good idea to get himself a phone. He had never needed, nor wanted, one before, but with Leon's number sitting in his pocket like a hot coal and the increasing amount of Camelotians popping up, he was starting to think it would be worth it. Besides, if he got a high-tech model, it would give the prat something to do to pass the time.

And so it was that Merlin returned home that day with two new, top-of-the-range phones. He had taken the liberty of setting Arthur's up for him and adding his number to it. He had even gone so far as to using magic to call Gwen and get her number.

Arthur had been greatly confused (and, dare Merlin say it, slightly fearful) by the piece of technology and Merlin was happy to note that the device would keep the king amused for a great while.

Aithusa had been _very_ excited and practically demanded that Merlin take photos of her. He had been sure, much to Kilgharrah's distaste, to get a shot of the two of them together and set it as his wallpaper.

The next day when he went to work, he managed to catch Percival, who was on his way home, and added both his and Morgana's numbers to his contacts list.

He would later find himself to be incredibly grateful for investing in the device.


	11. Chapter 11

_Snow. Falling so tranquilly from the sky despite the red that stains it as it settles._

_Swords. Like in the days of old, before technology advanced._

_Magic. A thousand spells spilling in hatred and anger._

_Screams. The voices of the damned and the helpless mingle into a single, bone-chilling cry._

_Blood. So much blood. On the ground, on clothes, on hands, on swords._

_Fear._

* * *

Merlin started into wakefulness as the tune he had set as his ringtone seemed to blast throughout the room. He stared at the device vibrating on his bedside table in confusion as his sluggish mind struggled to catch up with him. As the phone sang out again, Merlin reached out for it, missing his target a few times before he managed to grab it and read the caller ID.

It was Morgana.

"Morgana? It's the middle of the night…" he slurred, as he pressed the phone against his ear. "What is it?"

"_I'm sorry, Merlin, but I didn't know what to do. I had to talk to you._" Merlin could hear her breathing heavily, her tone heavily laced with hysteria. It reminded him of that time, a long, long time ago, when she had warned them against going out to fight the Questing Beast.

"What's wrong?"

"_I had a dream._"

Merlin sat bolt upright in his bed, the tendrils of sleep releasing their hold. "A dream? You mean like a dream of the future?"

"_I think so… it was awful. There was so much blood and the screams and–_"

"Morgana," Merlin interrupted. "Take a deep breath and slow down." He waited for her to calm down before adding, "Now start from the beginning."

Aithusa rolled over onto his legs, mumbling something unintelligible, but Merlin ignored her, his brow furrowing as Morgana described her dream. It was surprisingly vague, with no clear features or implications, but Merlin had learnt the hard way to ignore such things.

"It's alright," Merlin consoled quietly after she had finished. "Thank you for calling me. Will you be okay to get back to sleep? I can get a sleeping draught to you if you need it."

"_No, I'll be alright. I have some pills if I need them._"

"Okay. Try to get some rest. I'll see you at work at a more reasonable hour," he said lightly, trying to cheer her up a bit.

"_Thank you, Merlin_."

* * *

"What are you doing?" Arthur asked as he took the spare seat at the table opposite Merlin, who was alternating between eating cereal and muttering spells under his breath while he held a thick-banded bracelet.

"Morgana called in the middle of the night about a nightmare."

"Like she used to have?" Arthur poured some cereal from the box into a bowl. He had quickly learned that, while Merlin would cook dinner and occasionally prepare lunch for him, anything else he would have to get himself. Personally, he thought it was ridiculous; he was a king after all!

"Yeah. I thought I'd enchant a bracelet to suppress them like the one Morgause gave her."

"I see. So I take it I'm going to have another boring day stuck here while you go out and read until sunset?"

"Actually, no. Not today," Merlin put the bracelet down and smirked at him.

Arthur paused, spoon halfway to his mouth, and narrowed his eyes. "Oh?"

"Nope. I've got something planned for today. Be ready to leave in half an hour."

"Half an hour?" That was another thing that Arthur was having trouble with. He was used to working with time in candle marks and the position of the sun. This newer, more accurate way was confusing.

Merlin sighed and pointed at the clock on the wall. "The smaller hand," another sigh at the Once and Future King who was clearly not following. "Okay… the smaller stick marks the hour. At the moment, it's between the seven and the eight, which means it's in the seventh hour. Got it?"

Arthur nodded.

"The larger stick marks the minutes. There are sixty minutes in an hour, and each number represents an interval of five minutes. So half an hour is…" he left the sentence hanging, hoping Arthur would get the hint.

"Thirty minutes."

"Right." Merlin smiled. "So if the large stick has to get all the way around the clock for a full hour, it only has to go halfway for half an hour. Get it?"

"I think so."

"Good. Now you have less than thirty minutes to get ready, so get to it!"

* * *

Arthur groaned as the museum where Merlin worked came into view. "Really? This was your plan? To bore me somewhere else?"

"Don't be such a prat," Merlin smirked. "I highly doubt you'll be bored."

Arthur continued to question him, but Merlin ignored him, barely able to contain the grin that was trying to worm it's way onto his face. Arthur was in for a surprise!

"Good morning, you two."

Merlin and Arthur turned to see Morgana walking up the steps behind them. There were small dark marks under her eyes but her tone was cheerful.

"Morgana," Arthur acknowledged. He was still uncomfortable around her.

"You look tired," Merlin noted. "Did you manage to get some sleep?"

"A little, but it's alright," Morgana shrugged. "Are you excited, Arthur?" She smiled slyly, but not like the way she did centuries before; this had no malicious intent under the surface.

"Excited for what?" Arthur frowned. Morgana turned to stare at Merlin.

"You didn't tell him?"

"No. I wanted it to be a surprise." Merlin reached into his shoulder bag and pulled out the bracelet he had been working on that morning. "Here, I've enchanted it to suppress your dreams. Wear it if you want to."

Morgana's face was expressionless as she took the offered piece of jewelry and turned it over in her hands. She was silent for so long that Merlin thought she wasn't going to say anything but then he heard her murmur, "Thank you." She raised her eyes until she was looking directly at him. "This means a lot to me."

"You're welcome. Now let's go kill some time."

"What do you mean 'kill some time'?" Arthur grumbled as he followed the two of them into the building. He had never liked being kept out of the loop.

When lunch time finally rolled around, Merlin led Arthur to the entrance hall where they found Morgana already waiting for them.

"You guys ready to go?" she asked, smirking as she looked over at the still clueless Arthur.

"Yep, I just have to make the call," Merlin pulled his phone out of his pocket. "Arthur, you go on with Morgana and I'll catch up to you."

"What?" Arthur frowned, obviously not liking this plan.

"Oh, come on, Arthur," Morgana rolled her eyes. "I have no intention of running you through. We're just going down the road." She readjusted her bag. "Or are you _scared_?"

"I am _not_ scared," Arthur huffed indignantly, leading the way out of the building. Despite all his talk, he still cast a nervous glance back at Merlin as the door shut behind him.

True to her word, Morgana had not killed Arthur by the time Merlin arrived at the park that had been allocated as their meeting place.

"So what are we doing here?" Arthur placed his hands on his hips as Merlin and Morgana settled under the shade of a large oak tree.

"At the moment?" Merlin slapped the ground next to him, gesturing for him to sit down. "Waiting."

Arthur sighed and sat heavily. "Waiting for what?"

"You'll see," Morgana said knowingly.

They didn't have to wait long. Within minutes, they watched a white hatchback pull up on the side of the road. Morgana quickly rose to her feet, wringing her hands nervously. Arthur sent her a searching look but she paid him no mind.

The driver's and passenger's doors opened and out stepped none other than Gwen and Elyan. Merlin felt a smile tugging at his lips at the elated look on Arthur's face, which was mirrored by the two newcomers. Until they noticed Morgana.

Hesitantly, Gwen and Elyan walked over to where they were waiting, a picnic basket and a folded blanket between them.

Elyan looked very much like he missed being able to carry a sword and Gwen was biting her lip. They simultaneously turned to stare at Merlin, who forced himself to his feet.

"Are we really going to have to go through this for _everyone_ we reintroduce you to?" Merlin asked Morgana.

She heaved a sigh and shook her head. "It's alright. I want to." Taking a deep breath, she bowed to the siblings. "Gwen, Elyan, I am _so_ sorry for everything that has happened. In this life, I have been able to see how wrong my actions were and I would do anything to make it up to you."

Neither of them said anything for a long moment, and Merlin was beginning to fear they wouldn't take it as well as the others had. But, then, Gwen placed the basket on the ground and rushed forward, pulling her ex-mistress into a deep embrace as tears ran down her cheeks.

"I… I had always hoped that one day you would… and now you're…" Gwen was hardly able to make out a full sentence as Morgana recovered from her shock and returned the gesture.

"I'm sorry, Gwen," Morgana whispered, her face hidden in her friend's neck. "I'm glad you were queen. You would have been so much better for the kingdom than anyone else."

Seeing his sister's reaction, Elyan relaxed slightly and focused on the remaining two members of their party. Arthur gave an incredulous laugh, gripping the knight by the forearm and giving him a light slap on the back in a manly version of a hug.

"Sire," Elyan nodded. "Merlin."

Once released, Elyan copied the gesture with the raven-haired man.

"Elyan," Merlin grinned. "It's been a long time."

"So it has. How have you been?"

"Not bad. I have magic, by the way." Because Elyan didn't know yet. And it was only fair to fill him in.

The larger man froze. "I'm sorry, what?"

"It's true," Arthur broke in, patting Merlin on the back, just hard enough to make him stumble. "The whole time, in fact."

"Don't be mad, Elyan," Gwen gripped her brother's arm, apparently having gotten over her reunion with Morgana. "He's saved us all more times than we can count."

Elyan shook his head, a look of recognition forming on his face as he put the pieces together. "Well, I guess if these guys can trust you, I have no reason not to."

Merlin smiled in relief and then set about helping Gwen set up the blanket and pull out the food she had packed.

"They're late," Morgana looked down at her watch once they had all made themselves comfortable.

"Don't worry, they'll be here. I made sure I sounded desperate enough to get _Officer Stiles_ here," Merlin said, a silent conversation passing between them. "And _Mr. Dykes_ wouldn't miss this for the world."

Morgana laughed at the very confused looks the two of them were receiving.

"What are you two planning?" Gwen narrowed her eyes. "Who are Officer Stiles and Mr. Dykes?"

"Well, here comes Mr. Dykes," Merlin nodded towards the entrance of the park. All eyes turned to the direction he had gestured and several mouths fell open at the sight of the large man walking towards them.

"Is that…?" Arthur gaped.

"I told you, it's Mr. Dykes."

Arthur punched his shoulder before hurriedly getting to his feet, Gwen and Elyan hot on his tail. One emotional reunion later, and they were all seated once more.

"Can we start now or are we expecting others?" Elyan raised an eyebrow.

"Don't forget about Officer Stiles," Morgana said with feigned shock.

"No, I think you've got that backwards," Merlin corrected.

"What, he still doesn't know?"

"Not yet. But this was your idea, remember?"

"True. He's going to be so mad at you, though; making him take time out of his important schedule on a wild goose chase."

"Hey, I told him I had information. I just didn't say what the information was relevant to."

"What _are_ you two going on about?" Arthur crossed his arms, apparently unimpressed. "Merlin, no more secrets."

"It's not a secret. I told you about the investigation and we just mentioned Officer Stiles," Merlin huffed indignantly. Arthur did not look amused.

A police car pulled up just behind Gwen's car and all eyes focused on it.

"I think I should go explain," Merlin ran a hand through his hair as a very annoyed police officer stepped out of the car and frowned at him. He waved as he headed over to the man, calling, "Hi, Leon!"


End file.
